Konoha High! A Love Story? Psh! Yeah right
by Monochromatic Persona
Summary: Temari is a new transfer student at Konoha High, who then meets the 5 hottest guys in the whole entire school, but only one stands out. A love story? Psh! Yeah right! shikatema / Shikamaru X Temari / Other Pairings! Important to read my notes at the start
1. Meet the boys!

**MUST READ!**

Ok, I'm going to make a few changes to characters!

Because this is a High school themed fanfic, I made them all the same age to make it more interesting! Plus, if I made them all 2nd to 3rd years, Temari would be in University and that will only cause problems =/

So I've decided to make them all second years XDD

Except for Gaara who I'm making a year younger.

Oh and Kankuro is the same year because he's born a year later in the first few months, so he could be in the same year level.

Based on a favoured Japanese Dating Sim Game I play on DS called: Otometeki Koi Kakumei Love Revo!

It's also a manga now XDD

All of my subscribers and reviewers are all my inspiration!

This is dedicated my bestie Alison! (Ari-chan~) who also shares my love of anime and Otome DS games! XDD

Reviews highly appreciated because I need to know if this is worth continuing and liked and what needs to be changed!

Enjoy! ^_^

Oh! One more thing! Sasuke now wears glasses sometimes XD

* * *

'Ugh, I don't get why _I _have to be the exchange student! Kankuro could have been easily!' Temari thought to herself, as she was getting ready to go to Konoha High as an exchange student, from Suna Academy, for the first time. Sure, she was a little nervous, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She tied the bow around her neck and tied her hair up into her usual four pigtails. 'Ok! Ready to go!' she thought and left the apartment and went off to school.

She arrived at the school gates with a sign on the wall on the right saying 'Konoha High School'. She felt the butterflies in her stomach go crazy, but she took a deep breath and clamed down and walked through the gates into the school.

She got a bit lost and found herself walking through a grassy area where no one was around. That's when she saw him. He was lying on the grass looking straight up at the sky with his hands behind his head.

'Weird guy' she thought, but it wouldn't hurt to ask him for directions, so she did.

"Eeto, hi there" she said faintly while walking up to him.

He slowly looked her way and raised his eyebrow, "Hey" he said.

"Do you know the way to the principals office?"

He sighed deeply. He _sighed_? What a stuck up JERK! It's only directions! It isn't like I was asking him to jump off a cliff! It's not _that_ hard! "You know what. Don't worry about it! If it's so much trouble, I'll just go ask someone else!" Temari said with poison leaking through her words.

He looked at her weirdly in shock and grinned.

"What's so funny?" Temari demanded

"Heh, it's nothing. You must be new."

"And so what if I am?"

He paused, "Nothing." He said

Oh my god! I'm going to kill this bastard! Temari thought.

He sighed again deeply. "Keep going straight until you reach a building, then go enter the first door you see. Keep walking straight again until you reach a staircase to your left. Keep walking up them and follow the signs that say 'Principals Office' and yeah."

Temari calmed down a bit, "Thanks" she said and started to walk off.

"Hey!" he called out, "What's your name?"

Temari turned around to see him looking at her. He's kinda good looking…wait! What am I doing complimenting this stuck up jerk? "None of your business" she said and stormed off.

He just laid there for a moment and turned to look up at the sky again, "Bah! Women…so troublesome" he murmured and went back to watching the clouds.

Temari eventually found herself at the Principal's Office.

"Hello. May I help you?" the receptionist asked. There was a little sign saying 'Secretary: Shizune' on it.

"Hi. I'm the new exchange student from Suna Academy. I need to visit the Principal…?" she said politely.

"Oh, of course! Hello Subaku no Temari. Please, just walk straight into the office."

Temari gave a nod and walked right in. She saw a middle-aged lady with blonde hair in two pigtails sitting behind her desk full of paper work.

"You must be the new exchange student Subaku no Temari an I correct?"

"Ah, yes." Temari replied politely. 'Whoa, that's some body she's got their' Temari thought, 'is she really the principal?"

"Well it's nice to meet you. I'm the Principal Tsunade. Here's your timetable and a little map of the school. I'll send someone here to assist you for today and help you get around. The school grounds are quite big." Tsunade said looking straight at Temari.

"Oh no! This map should be good enough. Help is not necessary!" Temari said quickly. She didn't want some random perverted nerd sticking around her for the whole day.

"Are you sure?" Tsunade questioned raising her eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm sure." Temari said trying to sound convinced even though she already got lost in the first 2 minutes she was here.

"Ok, what ever you say." Tsunade said sighing. "You may excuse yourself now."

"Ok, thank you Tsunade-sama" Temari said and left.

Tsunade stared down at all of her paper work not leaving a single bare spot on the table left. "Where am I going to start?" Said Tsunade with a frown on her face.

Temari followed the map and eventually found her way to her form room. 'Tsunade was right, the school IS very big. Much bigger than Suna.' Temari thought to herself as she walked in. She looked around, not knowing where to sit, until a girl with pink hair and green eyes walked up to her.

"Hi there! You must be the new girl!" she said brightly.

Temari looked at her, "Yeah, that's me."

She smiled, "Hi! I'm Sakura Haruno! It's nice to meet you!"

"Hi, I'm Subaku no Temari. Nice to meet you too." She's ok I guess. I can imagine her being kind of annoying after a while, but ok.

"Do want to sit with us?" Sakura offered.

Temari thought to herself for a moment. Well why not? She had no better idea. "Sure" she said promptly and followed Sakura to the middle row. In that row seated 3 girls. One girl had her hair in two buns with a little kunai pendant around her neck. Another had lavender coloured eyes and long blue hair and looked a bit shy. While the third girl had long platinum blonde hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes. 'A typical Barbie doll' thought Temari.

"Hey everyone! This is the new girl Subaku no Temari! Temari-san, these are my friends Tenten, HInata and Ino." Said Sakura.

"Hey" they all said.

"Hey" Temari answered back and sat next to the lavender coloured eyes girl, was it Hinata, and she blushed a bit when she did.

"Good morning" she said really quietly.

"Mornin'" Temari said back. She seems like the really shy type, but that also means that she probably doesn't speak much, which is good. I'll probably get a long with her the most.

"Hey there Temari! I'm Ino" said the blonde girl really loudly in a high-pitched voice. "Interested in any guys our school has to offer yet?" 'Ok, I'll probably get along with her the least. She seems like the typical girly-girl with only boys and shopping on her mind' Temari thought. She automatically thought about the guy laying on the grass, but shook the thought away.

"Ino, she's only been in this school for like 5 minutes!" The girl with buns on her head said. 'I might get along with her too. She seems to have common sense' thought Temari/

"So? There's such thing as 'love at first sight' you know Tenten!" The girl named Ino said defensively.

"Anyways, what school did you come from?" asked Sakura

"Suna Academy" Temari said, not really wanting to talk about herself

"Wow! Isn't that some prestigious school?" asked Tenten

"Yeah, it's meant to be one of the top schools around."

"Then why are you here?" asked Sakura

"My fathers the principal, so apparently that's a reason for why I had to come here to 'enhance' our 'bond' with our sister school. My brother could've gone, but he said it was impossible because of his girlfriend."

"Enough of this boring school talk! So Temari, got a boyfriend yet?" Ino asked. Oh god, I'm really not going to like her.

"No I don't." Temari said casually like she didn't care. She didn't, really.

Sakura laughed, "Neither do we!"

"Sakura this isn't funny, but urgent!" Ino said in horror

Then the teacher walked in and everyone became silent. "Good Morning class! I'm your new form teach Iruka. We have a new exchange student here, Subaku no Temari. Please stand up and introduce yourself.

Oh why do they have to do this? Temari thought as she stood up and everyone started to murmur.

"Hi. My name is Subaku no Temari. I came from Suna Academy and this is my first day at Konoha High. Nice to meet you all." She heard a few comments saying, 'she's hot' and 'isn't that our prestigious sister school?' and such. She sat down quickly and roll call started.

Then they moved to their classes. Temari had double Biology with Hinata and her teacher's name was Kurenai. She was nice and didn't make her introduce herself in front of the class thank god!

Then finally it was recess. Temari was walking down the hall with the girls and suddenly all the girls squealed. She turned around to see five hot guys walking their way. She moved to the side with the rest of the girls. 'Oh my god, can you believe I'm acting like a _sheep_?' Temari thought mentally slapping herself.

"Hey Temari, meet the idols of our year level and school!" Ino squeaked in excitement. "See the guy with black hair which is spiked up at the back reading a book with glasses on? That's Sasuke. He's good at EVERYTHING! Not to mention really SEXY! The blonde guy at the front with scars like whiskers waving enthusiastically at everyone, that's Naruto. He's Sasuke's best friend and really loud, but a nice guy. The guy with the brown spiky hair on the right with the red paint on his face, that's Kiba. He's the 'Jock' of our school and is the quarter back of the football team! The serious-looking one with the long hair, lavender eyes and headband on at the back is Neji. He's the number one Martial Arts champion of the school and is also Hinata's cousin."

'No wonder they look similar.' Temari thought.

"And the last one…" Ino continued

Temari looked at the last guy. 'He looks familiar' she thought. No, wait…it's him! The guy who was laying on the grass! His hair was tied up and looked like a pineapple. He was wearing studded earrings and had his jacket slung over his shoulder with a bored and tired expression on his face.

"That's Shikamaru. Don't let his good looks fool you! He's a master genius with an IQ over 200! He's the captain and champion of the chess team and passes all of his tests with full marks and doesn't even listen or pay attention in class!"

"Over 200?" Temari said with surprise. Really? That guy who was laying on the grass? A genius?

"Yup." Said Ino feeling very proud of herself.

I watched him walk past. He looked at me and we made eye contact. Time just slowed down when our eyes locked, then he continued to walk off with his friends.

"Well, those are our idols! What do you think?" Ino said full of excitement.

"They're…good looking" Temari said losing interest in the conversation and thinking about Shikamaru.

"I know right?" Ino squealed yet again.

"Come on, let's go sit somewhere!" said Sakura.

So they went off to sit somewhere.

* * *

Well, thanks for reading my second fanfic and first on high school!

I hope you liked it! I was a bit unsure at first, but what the heck! XD

I know the start was a bit boring, but I needed to set up the story and setting; but now that that's done, the real story shall start next chapter.

Please review and such! All feedback welcome!

Should I continue this? It's all up to you! XDD

Chanel~


	2. Lunch time!

Well, because of the lovely reviews I've gotten from: shika'sgirl-beige; Xsusanox; Lupita; xTemariamix and vivprincess I'm updating and continuing this fanfic!

It seems like everyone's surprised and happy about Shikamaru being a popular HOTTIE!

The idea just makes me smile in happiness XDD

Anyway, ENJOY!

There's a nice Shikatema MOMENT! ^_^

Oh and reviews much appreciated, makes me release faster XDD

* * *

The gang of 5 girls went around to find somewhere to sit and eat their lunch. Unfortunately, everywhere they went was too crowded and noisy.

"ARGH! How can EVERYWHERE be so busy?" Ino screamed in frustration about to pull her silky blonde hair out. Of course, she didn't.

"I didn't think it was possible since the school's so big." Temari said

"What about going under that tree we used to sit under?" Tenten suggested

"Nah, Tayuya and her gang has already taken it and I definitely **don't** want to be around the same area as her!" Sakura denied.

"B-behind the gym?" Hinata asked.

"Oh no, not that again! Last time we sat there, a confession took place and we got caught listening in and got called snitches for _ages_!" Ino complained

'How cliché" Temari thought.

"Um, correction there! _You_ got caught and _you_ got called a snitch! _We_ walked off before hand and didn't stick our noses in other peoples business." Sakura corrected her.

"What ever! I was just curious about how Kenta confesses." Ino said trying to explain herself.

"Come on guys! Let's just try to find somewhere to sit before Lunch ends!" Tenten said

Then Temari remembered that spot where she was when she first arrived. "I know somewhere we can sit!" she said

They all looked at her, shrugged and followed her lead.

Temari eventually found her way back to that grassy area where she first saw Shikamaru laying down; and there they were, the five hottest guys sitting together on the grass as well as a couple of others. One of the new additions was a bit on the chubby side, while the other one had really big eyebrows.

"Oh my god! No way! So this is their hideout! You're the BEST Temari!" Ino squealed in excitement fixing her hair and skirt.

"A-are you s-sure it's ok f-for us to j-just walk up to th-them and s-sit?" Hinata stumbled.

"Who cares?" Sakura said happily, "We're just as entitled to sit here as them right?"

"I don't mind…" Tenten said unsure, but didn't want to lose this chance.

Temari just stood there and stared at the pineapple head from afar, a bit stunned, then again, did she _want_ to see him again, therefore went here in high hopes sub-consciously? Then Temari just stopped her thoughts and shook it away cursing that she's thinking too much.

"What are you waiting for girls? An invitation? You know we're not going to get one!" Ino said while marching towards the seven guys with her lips slightly pouting and her hips shaking more.

They all followed her and soon, all of the guys turned their heads towards their direction noticing the incoming.

"Heh, looks like this hiding spot finally got discovered" said Neji grinning

"Oh well, it worked for a while. Good job Shikamaru for finding it." Said Chouji

"Should we leave while we can?" asked Lee

"Nah, not bothered" said Shikamaru with an aloof expression

"I hope they're not annoying…" Sasuke said not looking away from his lunch

"Who cares? They're hot!" said Kiba cheekily.

"I agree with Kiba! Let's stay!" Naruto said excitedly.

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "What Sasuke? Oh don't worry, I'm not going to cheat!" said Naruto with a huge grin on his face.

Sasuke grinned back, "Dobe".

Ino got to them first, she practically ran, and put on her best flirty, cutesy voice, "Umm…excuse me, I hope you don't mind if we sit with you guys."

The guys looked at each other and just nodded; while shifting to let them in their circle. Ino screamed with glee inside.

Shikamaru looked at Temari and grinned. Temari went a bit pink and looked the other way and sat between him and Neji. Tenten sat next to Neji and Lee, Sakura sat next to Kiba and Lee, Ino sat next to Sasuke and Chouji, Hinata sat next to Naruto and Kiba.

So it was like this: Temari-Shikamaru-Chouji-Ino-Sasuke-Naruto-Hinata-Kiba-Sakura-Lee-Tenten-Neji-Temari.

Ino started flirting with Sasuke, who was ignoring her and talked to Naruto while eating her lunch, Sakura was trying to stop her discreetly while ignoring Lee talking about who-knows-what, Tenten and Neji had started small-talk and Hinata was mumbling to Naruto with Naruto going "WHAT? SPEAK UP!" obnoxiously and Kiba telling Naruto to shut up. Chouji was just munching away at his lunch.

Temari tried to distract herself by playing with her sandwich, she was too nervous to be hungry, and tried to keep herself from looking in his direction.

"So, you're that girl from earlier…?" Shikamaru asked by whispering in her ear. His breath sent shivers up her spine. She kept her cool and turned her head answering in an aggressive tone, "So what if I am?"; just to see his face up close to hers. They both turned a bit pink and shifted a little further apart so that they were a decent distance apart.

"There's no need to be angry. I was just going to ask what your name is since you rudely failed to last time" Shikamaru said in a bored tone

"You were the one being rude asking someone for their name with out introducing themselves!" Temari snapped back.

Shikamaru sighed, "Why do women have to be so troublesome?" he mumbled. "Ok then, lets start over. Hi, my name is Shikamaru Nara. I'm a second year at High School. What's yours?" He said grinning his gorgeous grin again.

Temari smiled back giving in, "Hi Shikamaru Nara. My name is Subaku no Temari. I'm here on exchange from Suna Academy and also a second year. Nice to meet you." They shook hands a laughed.

"Ne ne! Everyone! I have a GREAT idea!" Naruto said loudly as usual nreaking everyone's conversation, "Lets all go to the Cultural Festival that Mist High School is holding!"

"That's a great idea Naruto! Let's all meet up this weekend!" Kiba agreed giving him a hi-five.

"That's totally a great idea! Don't you agree girls?" Ino asked us excitedly, beckoning us to agree.

We all nodded.

"Well, what do you say Neji, Lee, Chouji, Shikamaru, Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Sure, there's no council duties this weekend and it's been a while since I've gone out." Neji said

"Yum…takoyaki" Chouji said munching on his chips, everyone taking it as a yes.

"…it's troublesome, but why not?" Shikamaru answered to Temari's relief. She would have made an excuse not to go if he didn't.

"Going out is youth! Therefore I will go!" replied the hot-blooded Lee

"Mm…sure since Naruto suggested it, it should be fun…" Sasuke said

"Then it's settled! We will all meet at the train station at 10am and go to the Cultural Festival!" Naruto said full of excitement.

They all nodded in agreement and then the bell went, signaling that lunchtime is over.

"Aaw…lunch is over already!" Sakura complained

"So we'll meet you guys here tomorrow at recess and lunch…?" Ino asked hesitantly wishing for a yes.

They all looked at each other and nodded, "Yeah, meet ya here tomorrow!" Kiba confirmed.

Then the boys separated from the girls and headed to their lockers.

"Temari! You're my little ANGEL!" Ino screeched in Temari's ear.

"Ow, lower the volume would you!" Temari said back covering her ears.

"I'll have to agree with Ino, Temari! You really are! You got us to spend a WHOLE lunchtime with the five hottest guys and again tomorrow! That's a miracle!" Sakura said

"S-so that's w-where they h-hide" Hinata said timidly

"It really was in a secluded place. Not only do we get to sit next to them every lunchtime, we're also going out with them this weekend!" Tenten said excitedly

"I know! Oh my god! What will I wear? All right, I'm going shopping after school for clothes. You guys in?" Ino asked

"Sure, I could use some new clothes! I just got paid." Sakura said

"Uh…I don't th-think I can…" Hinata said, "I still have heaps of homework to do!"

"I can't go either…I have Karate club activities today" Tenten said declining Ino's offer.

Temari thought fast for an excuse to get out of it. If she was stuck with just Sakura and Ino, she may die, "Uh, me too guys. I have stuff to do after school too."

"Aaw…oh well…I guess it's just you and me Sakura"

"Oi girls! Get to your classes would ya!" said Asuma

So they went their separate ways to their classes.

Temari had P.E. next with Tenten. They went to the gym and got changed into their P.E. uniform (Temari got informed to brings hers before school started) and went outside of the gym to meet the rest of the class. Neji and Shikamaru was also in the same class, so Tenten dragged Temari to go stand with them.

"Hey guys! Do you know who our teacher is?" Tenten asked starting conversation.

Her and Temari got chucked a LOT of glares in their direction by rabid fangirls.

"Nup, no idea" Neji replied calmly not noticing the tense atmosphere.

"Please don't let it be Gai-sensei!" Shikamaru pleaded

"Who's Gai-sensei?" Temari questioned

"HELLO MY YOUTHFUL PUPILS! ARE WE READY TO SHOW OUR YOUTH THROUGH EXERCISE?"

"Him" Shikamaru replied beckoning towards the direction the voice came from.

Temari turned around and saw a bigger and older version on Lee.

"Oh no~" Tenten complained looking a bit faint, "Why him of ALL teachers AGAIN?"

"Get ready for some pain. We have quite the bad luck don't we Tenten, having him again?" Neji said

"ALL RIGHT! FIRST RUN THREE LAPS AND HEAD TO THE BARS!"

So they all did as they were told. Tenten and Neji ran to the front and kept their pace, while Shikamaru and Temari ran near the back. Shikamaru was too lazy and Temari wasn't bothered putting in effort.

"Why aren't you going ahead?" asked Shikamaru and he ran the same pace as Temari

"Not bother. I guess that's why you aren't either?"

"Yeah. You know me well."

They grinned at each other. Temari received some glares in her direction yet again by rabid fangirls.

She could hear them talking, "Stupid noob. Thinks she has the right to talk to Shikamaru!"

"Just because she's from a prestigious school"

"She needs to know where she stands!"

Temari looked back at them and gave them an evil look. They backed off.

Finally the laps had ended.

"NOT ENOUGH EFFORT AND YOUTH IN THOSE STEPS!" Gai complained

The whole class moaned.

Now they had to do as many continuous spins on the bars as they could.

'Easy' Temari thought. She always exceeded when it came to physical activities, not that she was bad at the books either. She could do about 12 spins before she gets dizzy, which is not bad.

"Kyaa~"

"So HOT!" said some of the fangirls as they watched mesmerized by Neji and Shikamaru spinning beautifully and perfectly in sync sweating away by the heat. Shikamaru finished at 20, while Neji finished at 25.

"SUCH BEAUTIFUL YOUTH!" Gai admired

'Wow, who would of thought that the lazy-looking Shikamaru had the strength to do that? First he has an I.Q. over 200 and now he can also do 20 spins? What can't he do?' Temari thought to herself also mesmerized. 'No way am I going to lose to him!'

Temari went after one of the fangirls and started spinning. When she got to 5, she noticed that the bar was more slippery than usual and that she couldn't stop. 'Damn it! The stupid fangirls must of somehow oiled it! Shit! I'm loosing grip!' she thought slowly slipping away but couldn't stop since she started off strong. By the tenth spin she lost grip and flew in the air. She closed her eyes preparing for the hard ground, but she didn't fall on the ground. Someone was holding her.

It was Shikamaru catching her princess style. The fangirl's plan backfired.

"Hey. You ok?" Shikamaru asked her panicked.

Temari was too dizzy to answer, but she could feel a blush coming on.

"Oi! Hey! You ok?" he asked again more worried.

Temari was able to bring out a nod "…dizzy"

Shikamaru's eyes widened and then he grinned crookedly in relief, "…troublesome"

"Oh my gosh! Temari, are you ok?" Tenten asked running up to her.

"Yeah…just…a tad…dizzy…"

"I bet you are." Neji said following Tenten

A bit of a crowd started to form.

"Alright, lets head to the nurse's office." Shikamaru said walking while still holding her.

Temari couldn't bring herself to complain, so they headed towards the nurse's office.

Soon Temari started to come back to normal and took a big look on what was happening. Shikamaru was holding her princess style. Hmm…not embarrassing at all!

"You…can put me down now…" Temari said still a bit dizzy

"No. You still won't be able to walk properly." Shikamaru said calmly

"I'll be ok…just put me down" Temari said again

"I said NO! It may be troublesome but you still won't be able to walk properly!" Shikamaru said slightly raising his voice.

Temari was a bit shocked. She has never heard him raise his voice before. 'Why is he so demanding?' she wondered, 'Could he be THAT worried?' Unconsciously, she snuggled her head a bit more into his chest. They both blushed a bit more, but didn't say anything.

They finally reached the nurse's office to see the nurse wasn't there. Shikamaru placed Temari on the bed gently. "I guess we have to wait for the school nurse" Shikamaru said breaking the silence.

"Yeah…" Temari replied. She was feeling fine, but she didn't want him to leave.

There was a bit of silence.

"Umm…Shikamaru…" Temari said unsure, "Why did you raise your voice before?"

Shikamaru stared at her in a bit of shock, not sure what to say to her, "I guess I was a bit worried. You could have really hurt yourself if I didn't catch you. Then you didn't respond when I first asked you if you were ok…" he looked away a bit embarrassed.

Temari smiled sweetly, "Thanks"

Shikamaru turned around a bit surprised. He didn't think a tough girl like Temari was capable of saying 'thank you'. Does this mean she has a soft side behind her spunk and bite? Why did he find this so alluring…?

Temari just realized her recent behavior and slowly looked up, "But don't you think that I'm always going to act like a damsel in distr-" but she stopped mid sentence because her face was reall close to Shikamaru's.

Like..._really_ close.

They stared into each others eyes not daring to move; drowning in pools of teal and brown. Shikamaru moved a little forward and...

"Ahem"

They broke off to see Tsunade standing right there in front of them. Both of their faces turned into a deep crimson colour.

"Sorry for interupting..." Tsunade mumbled a little uncoordinated.

"Uh…well-you, see…uh…Temari wasn't…uh…" Shikamaru mumbled trying to explain himself, but couldn't seem to.

"Save it Shikamaru. Do you know where the school nurse is? I need some asprin."

"No, she wasn't here when we arrived."

"I see…carry on then while I try to find her." Tsunade said and left the nurse's office.

"Well…see you tomorrow. Your friends will probably be here soon." Shikamaru said avoiding Temari's gaze.

"Ye-yeah…bye"

And Shikamaru left.

* * *

Well there you go guys! I hope you liked my little Shikatema moment!

Oh how I love to torture!

Next Chapter I will have some more Shikatema GOODNESS so stay in tune!

Of course REVIEW! It makes me update faster! XD

Chanel~


	3. Cultural Festival Begins!

Yay an update!

Sorry it's taken me a while, I've been REALLY busy with school and such, so blame them! XDD

I'm really happy to see that My Konoha High fic is liked!

Makes me really happy ^_^

All my love goes out to the following: Kimimmari Myou Uchiha, Lupita, Sand-Jounin-Temari, Shikatema52007, shika'sgirl-beige, vivprincess, xTemariamix, AyanneCZ and . Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.

Thank you for your beautiful reviews! Keep it up! ;D

Disclaimer (I didn't forget this time): Kishi owns all Naruto property! If I owned it, I would've shipped all pairings already and Shikamaru and Temari would have had a billion BEAUTIFUL moments already! XDD

* * *

The girls were all together now and dressed up ready to see the guys. Though, they were about to be late…

"Oh my god Ino! How long does it take to get ready?" Tenten complained running.

"Not my fault the train came early and we missed it!" Ino bit back

"What are you talking about? The train was DELAYED and yet we still missed it because you took too long" Sakura told Ino angrily.

"T-too much r-running…" Hinata managed to say breathing heavily

"Come on girls! We're nearly there! Keep up!" Temari said not tired at all, but felt excited for some reason.

Finally the meeting place was in sight and they were about to make it _just_ in time. They could see all seven guys standing there in a group with every girl walking past them swooning.

"WAIT A MOMENT GIRLS!" Ino yelled stopping suddenly.

"What is it THIS time Ino?" Tenten said itching to go mingle with the guys already

"C'mon Ino, stop procrastinating!" Sakura complained

"It'll just be a moment." Ino said pulling out her mobile, putting it on camera, focused it on Sasuke and snapped a photo. "I needed a photo of Sasuke in CASUAL CLOTHES!"

"Oh geez Ino. I stopped just for _that_?" Tenten said

"Hey, we could sell it to the fangirls and make heaps!" Sakura said excitedly

"I-I don't think w-we can do that S-Sakura!" Hinata said hesitantly

Ino got out her compact and checked her face. She then snapped it closed and patted her hair, "Ok, we're all here girls? Wait, where's Temari?"

"S-She's over there" Hinata said pointing at Temari

Temari already made her way to the guys. She couldn't put up with Ino any longer. Temari was wearing purple tank top lined with black, a black skirt with pleats (not too short, not too long), purple socks that go above the knee, black low-heeled boots and a long black cardigan. She thought she looked good, but it didn't really matter; who was she going to try and impress anyway? When she got to them, Shikamaru was the first to notice.

He grinned, "Oi! We're over here!" he yelled out to her. He was just simply wearing a loose green t-shirt and a pair of straight-legged, denim jeans.

Her heart skipped a beat noticing him in casual, but quickly shook it off and sauntered up to him and the rest of the gang, "Hey guys. Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah, but where's everyone else?" Shikamaru asked

"Where are the rest of the girls?" Kiba asked

"Oh they should be coming!" Temari said smiling and sure enough…

"HEY GUYS! SORRY WE'RE LATE!" Ino cried out loud enough to break glass (she almost shattered the windows).

This is what everyone's wearing:

Naruto: A blue 'Adidas' t-shirt with an orange hoodie jacket, baggy jeans and Converse chucks.

Sasuke: A dark blue hoodie jumper, jeans, a black studded belt and suspenders.

Lee: Darks green sports top with the number 1 on the back and a pair of shorts.

Neji: A white shirt with the collar un-buttoned, tanned cargo pants and a bandanna on his head.

Chouji: A dark red, long-sleeved top and pants.

Kiba: A grey hoodie with black fur brimming the hood and jeans with a colourful belt.

Ino: A tight, white singlet, mini skirt and 5 ½-inch heeled boots.

Tenten: A Chinese design top and three-quarter pants

Hinata: A light blue dress with white flowers printed on it, white cardigan and white sandals.

Sakura: A pink frilly dress with cherry blossom petals on it and a matching pink ribbon in her hair.

"That's ok. You're just on time, we're just a tad early." Naruto said

They all said their greetings and walked to Mist Secondary College. Once they got there, they saw signs and balloons everywhere!

"Wow! That's so the Mist! They always love to show off." Kiba said whistling

"Yeah! But it's always fun!" Naruto said getting

"Food!" Chouji drooled

They made their way into the festival and confetti was thrown everywhere.

"I would hate to clean up after this though" Shikamaru remarked

"So true. But you're just lazy so you will probably ditch school for a while if you did" Temari smiled

"Geez. You know me so well already and it's only been two weeks." Shikamaru grinned

"Ok, so let's all split up for a bit! Tenten can go around with Neji, Kiba and Hinata, Shikamaru with Temari, Sakura can go with Naruto, I'll go with Sasuke and that will leave Chouji and Lee." Ino started.

"Uh, Naruto and Sasuke have already gone off together…" Kiba started.

"What?" Ino screamed

"They are probably vs-ing each other in some random game. They always do those two." Neji said calmly.

"I will go with Sakura" Lee said

"Eh?" Sakura was about to disagree, but Lee gave her puppy-eyes, so she couldn't resist."

"Fine, Sakura, go with Lee and I'll go with Chouji" Ino whined

"Lets all meet back here at 3 o'clock and go see the performances together." Sakura said

"Yeah, I'll tell Naruto and Sasuke" Kiba said

They all agreed and went their separate ways.

Chouji went charging at all of the food stalls and Ino followed him telling him off.

Lee ran for the soccer challenge area, he's the soccer captain, with fire burning in his eyes dragging Sakura along telling her to watch him.

Neji and Tenten just shrugged and walked off to some location.

Kiba and Hinata headed towards the petting zoo with Akamaru.

Shikamaru and Temari just stood there not knowing what to do, watching everyone disappearing to different parts of the festival.

"Why did I get stuck with a troublesome girl like you?" Shikamaru asked

"Meh, at least you don't have to baby sit a LAZY ASS a.k.a you!" Temari smirked

"What ever. Wanna go get something to drink?"

"Sure. I'm thirsty. Let's go."

They went to the drink stall. Shikamaru bought lemonade while Temari got an ice tea. They continued to walk and weaved through the crowd not saying much until someone called them.

"Hey you couple over there!"

They turned around and saw a random guy standing there.

"Yes, you two!" he ran up to them, "Want to play a fun game? You can win a trip to the hot springs! Only a 5 dollar ticket fee! Oh, and I'm Mizugetsu by the way."

Shikamaru and Temari looked at each other and shrugged.

"Could be fun"

"Haven't got any other ideas on what to do anyway"

"Awesome! Here, a ticket" Mizugetsu said handing over a pink ticket

"Thanks, I'll pay" Shikamaru said handing over 5 dollars

"Just follow the pink signs and you've arrived. You can't miss it"

So they did while Mizugetsu tried to convince some other couple to play.

"You know I could've paid half" Temari said

"It's only five bucks. It's ok." Shikamaru said grinning

"Thanks"

They finally arrived with party poppers and confetti popping on them until they were covered.

"Welcome to the Love Test game! I see you've got a ticket. Please head this way."

Temari paused. Shikamaru had a dumbstruck look on his face. They looked up to see a big sign saying 'LOVE TEST' on it in bold.

"Oh why didn't we ask what the game was? No wonder he was only asking couples." Shikamaru said smacking his forehead

"Wait! We're not…him…me…aren't…we're not together!" Temari said stumbling over her words blushing.

"Huh, you aren't? Well why don't you play it anyway? You've already bought a ticket and there are no refunds. Read it."

And sure enough, a clear 'no refund' was printed on the ticket.

"Well…what do we have to do?" Shikamaru asked

"Wait, we're going through with this?" Temari asked exasperated

"Even thought it's troublesome, I'm not wasting 5 bucks" said Shikamaru blushing a little, turning away.

Temari flushed a little as well, "Ok. I guess it won't hurt"

"All right! We've got a new contestant! What you have to do is follow this map to the 5 different checkpoints scattered around the festival. When you arrive at one, you have to complete a task successfully and get this card here stamped" a girl said handing them a pink love heart card, "If you fail, you lose. But if you win all five challenges, then you win a trip for two to the hot springs! You have ten minutes to get to each checkpoint and here's a necklace for both of you to wear to show you are competing in this competition" she handed them two necklaces. One had a key pendant, while the other had a lock.

Shikamaru put the key necklace on while Temari wore the lock.

"Oh yeah, one more thing. You have to hold hands throughout the whole competition and if you let go at any time, you lose automatically. So please hold hands and step this way to start the competition."

"Wait, we have to hold hands ALL THE TIME?" Temari asked in horror

"Yep!" the girl smiled handing over a map and the stamp card.

Shikamaru sighed. He reached out his hand and she took it. She could feel herself blush a little when she felt Shikamaru squeeze her hand a little tighter. Then they walked through the gate and started the competition hand-in-hand.

* * *

The second stage of Shikatema love starts here!

Excited? Then review and I'll release it faster! Also I will put your name up on the next chapter! ^_^

Do you think I'm bashing Ino a bit much? I don't mean to, but I can imagine acting like that. Sorry all Ino fans! (If there is any mwahahaha)

XDD

Thanks for reading!

Chanel~


	4. Pit Stop 1: Cosplay Cafe!

Sorry for being slack and not updating guys!

Thank you to the following for your reviews that give me ambition: Kagayama16; Shikatema52007; AyanneCZ; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; xTemariamix; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; Lupita; Melted Glass; Snorlax; Watashi wa da D des and Karameru

Oh and sorry about the 'said' problem…I didn't even realise and I hate it too…so I tried not to use it as much this time around. I don't normally, but I guess it shows how tired I am at the moment! XDD

I've decided to make inner thoughts in italic. Tell me what you think! Is it easier?

Please enjoy and review! You know the drill!

* * *

Temari's heart was beating so fast that she could hardly breathe.

A single drop of sweat ran down Shikamaru's face.

No, it wasn't particularly hot, nor was Temari suffering from a heart attack.

No, it was because they were simply holding hands.

'_Calm down Temari! You're only holding hands! It's not like you're walking down the aisle about to be married off!' _thought Temari trying to keep her thought together; but it was hard since they were about to walk through a white arch with roses and love hearts on it holding hands. Very wedding like.

She didn't realise that Shikamaru was having a hard time calming down as well.

"Ok you two! You're first point is at the Cosplay Café right here" the girl explained pointing to a star on the map, "I'll explain it once more. You have 10 minutes to get to the check point. When you arrive, you have to successfully complete a task. If you succeed, you get a stamp on your stamp card and will get told where to go to next in another 10 minutes. If you fail, you lose and have to return the necklaces and other belongings given to you. It's pretty straight forward. Oh, and don't forget that you have to hold hands the WHOLE time unless told that you can let go. If you let go at any point that you're not allowed, you will be disqualified! Any questions?"

"Yeah, like how do you know if we make it to the next check point on time and whether we hold hands for that entire time as well?" Shikamaru asked

"Easy. We have contact with every check point through mobiles and walky-talkies. We tell the next check point that you have left and they'll record the time it took for you to get there. If you look at the back of your card, there's a code number. I just tell them that code and the time you left and everything's easy from there. As for holding hands, we have people out there in and out of uniform working for us, keeping a look out for cheaters. If they spot you, they'll tell you that you're disqualified and tell us as well. Any other questions?"

'_Wow they're thorough!'_ Temari thought

"Alright! On your marks, get set, GO!" A bunch of party poppers popped and streamers flew everywhere. So they walked off to the next pit stop.

"They're quite flashy aren't they?" Shikamaru said to Temari

Temari nodded in agreement.

They arrived at the Cosplay Café with the sign 'Love Game Pit Stop' in front of it in five minutes. They walked in to be greeted by a boy dressed up as a samurai.

"Welcome to class 2-D's Cosplay Café! I see you're taking part in the Love Game! May I have your card?"

Shikamaru handed him the card and they could see him fumble with a piece of paper and pen writing down their code and what time they arrived.

"Thank you! You'll be assisted immediately!" the boy told them; and sure enough, a girl dressed as a female priest walked up to them.

"Please, follow me"

They did and they walked through a door at the back into a room.

"Ok. The challenge is that you will be wearing a costume, serve customers and take care of their order. You have 15 minutes to serve 10 orders successfully. Presentation and quality is the key. If you fail to do this and it's unworthy for the customer, it will be rejected. You only have 3 chances. Is everything clear?" the priestess explained carefully

"Uh. I have a question…" Temari started, "How do we get dressed holding hands?" She blushed a bit.

So did Shikamaru.

"Oh don't worry. You are allowed to let go of your hands when you get dressed. You have three minutes to change into your costume. When we say times up, if you don't come out fully dressed, you lose. You will get changed behind those two curtains. Any other questions?"

"Are we meant to take orders holding hands as well?" Shikamaru asked

"Yes, that is part of the challenge. Anything else?"

They both shook their heads.

"Ok, when I say start, you can let go of your hands and go into the changing room. The costume you have to wear is already hanged up in their. I'll tell you when time is up and you have to step out in the costume. Ready?"

They nodded.

"Ok, GO!"

They both let go quickly. _My hand feels kind of empty now_ Temari thought; but quickly ran into the changing room, not wanting to lose so quickly full of un-mentionable excitement. She turned and looked at the costume hanged up nicely on the hanger. "Oh no! You've _got _to be KIDDING me!" she exclaimed in horror. "Can I get another costume?"

"No, you must wear the one provided."

_Bitch._

"Come on, there's no time to complain Temari. It can't be _that_ bad. Swallow your pride and get dressed, clocks ticking." Shikamaru spoke next door

"Easy for you to say!" hissed Temari; but she did swallow her pride and quickly slip it on.

Exactly 3 minutes later, the girl called them out.

Shikamaru stepped out fully dressed, his tie a bit crooked, and the girl blushed because he looked GOOD! No, scratch that SEXY! He was wearing a French suit with a pocket watch chain hanging form the pocket and he had his hair down so he could wear the top hat. The shirt had frills at the front and the suit was pin-striped. Who could've thought it would suit him so well?

Temari walked out a couple of seconds after him in a….

Maid outfit.

She was blushing like mad; VERY embarrassed in what she was wearing.

Shikamaru turned to look at her and his face turned into a deep shade of red. _'Wow that amazingly suits her. Kinda…cute'_ He tried to keep calm…but it failed.

"What you looking at?" Temari hissed trying to sound normal.

"Uh…" Shikamaru stuttered, "Obviously you. Just curious in your costume wondering what will match mine…"

"Uh huh"

There was an awkward silence.

"Oh, your tie's crooked. I'll fix it." Temari gently grabbed his tie and fixed it up.

"Will you two hold hands again and look this way" the girl ordered

Shikamaru held out his hand looking away. Temari was about to take it, hesitated, then shook her head and placed her hand in his.

He closed his hand and they both looked at each other and she smiled a cheesy smile that forced Shikamaru to grin back against his will.

Then a light flashed on the corner of their eye. They flicked their face towards the light to see the girl holding a camera.

"Aaw that's a nice photo! I forgot to mention that a photo will be taken at every checkpoint; which is why I asked you to look this way, but this is _much_ better!" the girl explained admiring the photo she just took on her digital camera.

"What? Give that camera to me!" Temari panicked looking like she was about to pounce with her face flushed.

"Nuh uh! If you get rid of this photo you will be disqualified because this is proof that you've been here." She wagged her finger

Temari bit her lip, _'Oh when this ends, you're so DEAD!'_

"Come on, let's get on with this" Shikamaru complained wanting to get out of the stuffy, tight suit.

"Ok, follow me"

They walked out of the room and many heads turned their way and looking at them.

Embarrassment was pasted all over Temari and Shikamaru's faces and they were lead to the kitchen area.

"Alright. Here is a notepad and pen to take orders. You take an order and then complete the order in this kitchen then serve it out to them. It's pretty simple. The customer is allowed to reject your order remember. They can also reject your order if you take too long. Oh and you also lose a chance if you drop something. Now, ready to start?"

"Yep"

Shikamaru sighed "Troublesome…"

"Alright, go!"

They ran out to where the customers are and looked out for someone to serve.

"We should take five orders first, complete them and then take another five while bringing them out." Shikamaru suggested

"Why only five?"

"Think about it. If we take one at a time it'll take too much time, but if we take all ten, we'll take too long to complete the order. If we take five, when we bring out the orders we can take them at the same time. It makes the most sense."

"I see…I guess they don't call you a genius for nothing. Too bad you're too damn lazy."

"Tch, shut up. I just like relaxing; unlike you girls and your excitement bubbles on shopping sprees"

"Stop being so stereotypical! I'm definitely not one of _those_ ordinary, _annoying_ girls like Ino! I'm different! They annoy me as much as they do to you."

"I know that. You are different…which is good" Shikamaru mumbled down the last bit

Temari's eyes widened, "What did you just-"

"Oh someone over their wants their order taken" Shikamaru cut her off and dragged her towards the table.

There were three girls, "Hey. We would like to order now" one of them said a little bit flirtatious towards Shikamaru battering her eyelashes. She had a cute face. One that a lot of guys would jump for.

'_How disgusting'_ Temari thought, _'She's flirting with Shikamaru, even though we're acting as a couple in this stupid game. What if he really was my boyfriend like he's meant to be…not that I care or anything…'_

"Yes _we_ would like to take your order" Temari empathised the word 'we' trying to make a point. _'Why am I acting like I care?' _Temari started to mentally slap herself.

The girl glared at her.

Temari flashed a fake smile.

Shikamaru didn't notice.

"I would like an ice tea and a strawberry and cream cup cake please" she spoke looking away from Temari and straight towards Shikamaru.

Shikamaru placed the notepad down on the table and wrote down the order.

The girl stared at him, swooning.

"Uh-umm…" stuttered one of her friends, "Can I have a soda and a brownie?"

"Sure"

"And I would like an ice-chocolate"

"Ok, is that all?"

They all nodded their heads.

"We will bring your order out later. Thank you" Temari and Shikamaru bowed and left.

They got the rest of the 5 orders in 3 minutes and took it back to the kitchen. They quickly fulfilled the orders and tried to dress it up a bit putting the drinks in fancy tall glasses and placing cakes on cute, decorated plates. On the ice chocolate, they towered the cream on top nicely and sprinkled shaved chocolate on top and on ice coffee, they sprinkled coffee beans on top. It was difficult with just one hand.

Temari was a bit annoyed because she had to admit that Shikamaru was better at this than her even with his left hand.

They brought the orders out and were accepted every time. The three girls from before adored the little plates and tall glasses and accepted the order as well.

The girl eyeing Shikamaru spoke, "Hey thanks! My name's Yumi. It's nice to meet you! What's your name?"

Shikamaru looked at her weirdly, "It's Shikamaru" he mumbled

"Shika-kun ne~? Well, I'm really happy that you served us and you did a really good job! I love the decoration next to my cupcake. Can I thank you with a coffee or tea sometime?" she battered her eyelashes again smiling sweetly and used a cute squeaky voice to match her face.

'_What does this little hussy think she is? Hello! I'm the partner here_ _holding hands and all! Oh my god what am I saying? Shut up Temari! Shut up!' _Temari turned to look at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru had a bored look on his face, "Shikamaru's just fine and sorry, I have to decline. I'm not interested in girls who go after other girl's guys and expose it to their faces. Oh and by the way, my partner here did that decoration next to your cake" Shikamaru held up their linked hands

Yumi's jaw dropped.

Temari tried her hardest to stifle her laugh but it still came out muffled. _'She's probably not use to rejection, let alone one like this'_ She stuck her tongue out at her. There was nothing she could do now; she's already accepted the order.

"Other girl's guys huh?" Temari smirked at Shikamaru as they went to serve another table.

He blushed a little not realising what he said, "Well our hands are linked and she's probably aware of the love game. No matter how you look at us, we look like a c-couple." Shikamaru stuttered, "I hate girls like that"

Temari giggled, "We do agree on something"

They approached a couple of guys.

"Hey there girly. Like the outfit, very _flattering_!" one of them spoke

'_Ugh, what a perv'_ Temari thought, turning her nose slightly up in disgust.

"Sir, can we please just take your order now. Other people are waiting." Shikamaru said a little annoyed.

The said their orders and when Shikamaru and Temari left, they winked towards Temari.

She felt like she was going to throw up.

They came back and gave the couple of guys' orders last. Shikamaru insisted on giving theirs last for some unknown reason.

When they did, they seemed to be alright. No more weird comments or anything sickening.

Temari and Shikamaru turned around to tell someone that they've finished the task before time was up, but as soon they did, one of the guys went to make a grab at Temari.

Temari noticed, not letting her guard down, and was about to let reflexes take over, but Shikamaru already beat her to it grabbing the guy's am that was making the move.

Shikamaru's eyes turned sharp and scary, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Hey calm down. If she's dressed like that, naturally-OW OW THAT HURTS! OW LET GO LET GO!"

"Give me a good reason why?"

A shiver went down Temari's spine. His voice was so raspy and threatening, so different to how it normally is.

"Well it's not my fault she's dressed up like a hook-ARGH! STOP TIGHTENING YOUR GRIP!"

"Oh, you asked for it!" Shikamaru said letting go of his arm and tightening into a fist.

"No! Stop it Shikamaru!" Temari yelled out.

"Why should I? Don't you hear what he's saying?"

Temari got out her hand and punched the guy in the face _really_ hard that he toppled to the floor and laid there un-conscious. "Because I want the first shot"

Shikamaru stared at her and tad scared and laughed really hard. _'Just like mum'_

"What's going on here?" questioned an upper classmate

"This guy tried to grab Temari so we stopped him and punched him out because he started talking dirty. Anyway we pass since it's only been 13 minutes and 28 seconds and we've finished 10 orders with no rejections, unless you include this guy, but it's too late for him anyway, so we're going to get changed and stamp our card. Thanks" Shikamaru bursted out in a rush and dragged Temari back to the other room to get changed leaving a whole lot of people staring at them.

"Whoa! Well that was more exciting then I thought it would be; but no more thanks!" Temari sighed in exhaustion from punching so hard.

Shikamaru laughed, "Well nice punch."

"Thanks. What you did back there was sweet"

Shikamaru blushed a little, "Yeah…let's just get changed. I hate suits."

"But you look good" Temari whined

"You too…" Shikamaru mumbled under his breath

"What?"

"Nothing"

So they got changed, stamped their card and headed of to their next challenge.

* * *

Wow it's REALLY late! I'm so tired so sorry for mistakes but yeah it's past midnight and I have school tomorrow but I REALLY want to release this so yeah.

This chapter's much longer than the other ones I've done…is it ok?

Thanks for your support and I'll try to release another this week.

Please review for inspiration! XDDD


	5. Pit Stop 2: A Weird Combination

Woo update!

I've been a tad lazy and exams are coming this weeks and I just had 2 tests this week…

Ugh…Hope I don't fail XDD

And I'm sick with the cold at the moment!

Thank you for your support! Much appreciated to: Shikatema52007; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; Karameru; Watashi wa da D desu; Annah94; Toriga-Okami; Lupita; Kagayama16; Melted Glass; AyanneCZ; EmeraldGreen4Life; ..; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; DaKemz; xTemariamix; ShikaxOmi09

You are all my guiding stars giving me motivation and I wouldn't have started this chapter because I'm sick and exams are coming up next week if it wasn't for you guys!

I would like to update my other story, TPAITH, but I've hit a bit of a block so hopefully bringing out another KH chapter will make up for it! ^_^

Enjoy reading and you know the drill! R&R!

* * *

Temari and Shikamaru started moving to the other checkpoint holding hands.

"Ugh, why did the next checkpoint have to be on the other side of the festival?" Shikamaru complained, "I'm getting hungry".

"Oh stop complaining" Temari pouted, "You're having fun right?"

Shikamaru paused a bit, "Yeah…" he mumbled

As they were running, they were passing the rest of the gang bit by bit.

"Hey look. It's Chouji and Ino." Temari said noticing a chubby guy with a skinny blonde. It was ironic really. Chouji was eating Takoyaki while watching Ino shopping and looking at various trinkets.

"Yeah. I would go say hi and save Chouji, but we might not make it in time since Ino likes to talk." Shikamaru grumbled a bit, "Troublesome"

"Don't worry; Chouji doesn't seem to mind"

"I guess so…"

They continued to speed walk through the crowd. Then they took a glimpse of the crowd of people surrounding a stage.

Neji was on that stage and Tenten was cheering on the side lines.

"Wow, is Neji THAT good at Martial Arts?" Temari asked admiring his grace. Looked like he was almost dancing.

"Well, he IS the leader of the Martal Arts club as well as the Student Council. Tenten also does Karate, though I wonder why Neji's on stage…"

"Yeah, I don't think he mentioned anything about performing. Wait, Tenten does Karate?"

"Yeah and she's really good. She could lead, but she always rejects the offer. She's a lot stronger than you think; plus she does archery and has a crazy aim."

"So much I still don't know. I chose quite an interesting group to be around with as a newcomer."

Shikamaru laughed, "You sure did"

They continued to run and saw Naruto pulling Sasuke by the hand running past them.

"What's with them?" Temari asked

"Oh, Naruto's probably taking Sasuke somewhere to challenge him to sees whose better at god knows what. They do it all the time, its normal."

"Really? Are they close?"

"Pretty close. Guess you can call them best friends, though they say they're 'rivals'. Sasuke pretty much only opens up when Naruto's around. Same goes with smiling."

"Wait, Sasuke actually _smiles_?"

"Yep, believe it or not he does."

"What do you mean by rivals?"

"Ever since primary school, Naruto had a bit of an inferiority complex towards Sasuke because Sasuke was good at EVERYTHING as a natural prodigy; while Naruto sort of sucked. So Naruto started training like crazy to try and beat him and always constantly challenging him in something to prove that he can beat him. Sasuke just agreed to it all and it hasn't changed since then and they still do it now."

"That's kind of crazy, but cute"

"I guess you can see it that way. It's all too troublesome in the end"

They watched them run past and kept going.

"The soccer match is still on" Temari noticed pointing towards a soccer field

"Hmm? Oh Lee's still playing and I can see Sakura's pink hair on the sidelines"

"I'm guessing Lee likes Sakura?"

"Yep. That's also been going for a while, but I guess Sakura can't overlook the bowl hair cut and huge eyebrows."

"How could you? They are almost alive themselves. Though I swear he looks identical to our P.E. teacher."

Shikamaru laughed, "That's where his fashion sense came from. They act like family."

Temari laughed imagining them in identical attire and walking around in sync. "Obviously not my family. What about Sakura? What does she do?"

"She plays tennis and is trying out for the finals"

"Is she any good?"

"Dunno, never seen her played or asked. I suppose so since it's for finals."

"Oh look! It's Hinata and Kiba at the petting zoo" Temari pointed towards the right

They watched Hinata try to hold a duck and then squealing when it flew out of her arms and Kiba started laughing.

"Has she always been so self conscious?" Temari asked watching the pale eyed girl patting a baby lamb

"As far as I know."

"Why did Kiba bring Akamaru?"

"Akamaru is his best friend in the whole entire world or something. He would bring him to school if he could, though he has tried smuggling him in before. He got in HUGE trouble. Though I don't believe Akamaru will cause trouble, he's a really smart dog and knows a lot of tricks! You should ask Kiba to show you sometime"

Temari laughed, "Now _that_ would be interesting!"

They continued speeding through the crowd and finally reached their destination. It was a ramen and milkshakes stall.

"Weird combination" Shikamaru remarked

"Hello," greeted the lady at the front, "I'm guessing this is your next pit stop for the Love Game?"

"Yes. What do we have to do? Did we make it on time?" Temari asked

"You made it _right_ on time! Please follow me and I'll explain everything" she smiled and started walking into the eating area behind the stall.

They followed her and saw a few couples sitting at tables together. There were big bowls of ramen and empty milkshake on a few tables…

"Oh god, don't tell me…" Temari didn't get to finish

"That's right. It's an eating game! Both of you must finish a whole large serving of ramen in 15 minutes together while holding hands. At the end when the bowl is done, you both share a milkshake, which also has to be finished and a picture will be taken at the same time. Everything clear?"

"What? A picture will be taken when we're sharing a milkshake?"

"Aah! Are you serious? We have to eat that huge bowl?" Shikamaru groaned.

"Weren't you complaining that you were hungry before?"

"No, I was _getting_ hungry. Not actually hungry! And have you seen the size of those bowls? Only Naruto can only finish something that big! Speaking of Naruto…" Shikamaru complained, and then looked at the only empty bowl in the area of tables. All the other bowls had left overs, "Maybe I'm over thinking things…"

"What's wrong Shikamaru? What are you mumbling about?" Temari asked looking at him curiously

"Nah. It's nothing…I'm just over thinking things."

"Are you both ready? I'll take you to a table and no letting go of hands ok?"

They both nodded.

"It's troublesome, but yeah"

She brought them to a table with a big bowl of ramen and a pair of chopsticks.

"Ah, don't we need two pairs of chopsticks?" Temari mentioned seeing only one pair.

"Nope. You have to share the one."

"WHAT?"

"Bah…another troublesome thing"

"It's the rules"

"Ugh whatever…" Shikamaru grumbled fed up

Temari didn't say anything.

"Ok, START!" A bunch of party poppers popped.

So they did. Shikamaru picked up the chopsticks clumsily; he's holding hands with his right hand and he's right handed, and picked up a clump of noodles and shoved them in his mouth. He then passed the chopsticks to Temari.

Temari then picked up some noodles and stared at it. _This would be counted as an indirect kiss wouldn't it? _She thought.

"What's the hold up? Clocks ticking Temari, no time to be fussy" Shikamaru looked at her

_He's right; I'm being childish..._ She took a deep breath a shove it in her mouth quickly, then passed the chopsticks over

This went on for a while as they took turns eating.

"Five minutes have passed." The girl mentioned

"This is going too slow. We haven't gotten through a third of it yet." Shikamaru groaned

"What should we do then?" Temari asked then something clicked. She went a little red but there was no other way, "What i-if I…uh I mean, if I-I f-feed us b-both?" she stuttered. _God I sound like an idiot_.

Shikamaru's face went a bit pink. "I g-guess it would be quicker since I'm slower in my left and everything"

Temari then picked the chopstick up and grab a bundle and shoved it in her mouth. Then she picked up another bundle and waved it in front of Shikamaru's face looking at him seriously, even though her face was a tad red.

Shikamaru went a bit pinker and opened his mouth.

She placed the ramen inside and quickly pulled the chopsticks out quickly and look straight down at the bowl and shoved another bunch in her own mouth not daring to look at him yet since she was a tad embarrassed. She closed her eyes only to hear the chewing until she felt a pull at one of the pieces of ramen in her mouth. She flicked open her eyes and followed the trail of the piece of ramen to Shikamaru's mouth. She looked straight into his eyes and they paused for a bit. This happens often in the movies and it always leaded to…

Temari went bright red and Shikamaru noticed and grinned. He had a playful look in his eyes and Temari had no idea what to expect. He followed the trail with his mouth gaining closer to hers. The piece of ramen was getting smaller.

_What is he doing?_ Temari freaked getting redder but yet, didn't want to let go. She tensed up a bit, but she wasn't going to lose to him so she approached closer too.

This surprised Shikamaru and he also went a bit red, but paced closer quite liking this game of chicken he started.

Soon, Temari could feel his breath and tried to pull her eyes away from his, but she couldn't. Eventually her vision of his face went blurry, due to being _really_ close, and she panicked and bit off her end and pulled back breathing heavily since she hadn't breathed the whole time.

Shikamaru slurped up the rest of the ramen a grinned triumphantly since he had won.

Temari's face was burning of humiliation noticing that the left over bit of ramen was very little. She then started to speed up eating and feeding so she could get out of the embarrassment faster. Ramen soup was starting to fly everywhere. They were nearly finished.

"Ten seconds to go" the girl called out

They started to fuss at the small bits left over.

"Five"

More fussing since they had no spoon

"Four"

_We're nearly finished!_

"Three"

_Come one!_

"Two"

_Almost_

"One"

Shikamaru grabbed the bowl and drank up the rest of the contents and slammed the bowl on the table.

"And you're done!" the girl smiled

The couple groaned and leaned back on the chair with their stomachs stuffed.

Shikamaru leaned back a bit too far too fast and fell back on his chair.

Temari watched him and laughed out loud until it filled the room.

Shikamaru just stayed on the floor staring at the ceiling with an annoyed look on his face with their hands still linked.

Temari calmed down and got up from her seat and pulled him off from the floor and smiled cheesily at him.

He grinned back and rubbed the back of his head where it hit the floor.

"Does it hurt?" she asked him while looking at the back of his head.

"Yeah…" he winced at the pain a bit.

Temari looked at him intently and…

Pecked him on the cheek.

He was a bit startled from this and stared at her.

She smiled brightly, "All better?"

He started to blush and looked away.

Temari then smiled triumphantly because she won this time.

He looked back at her, "You missed the spot" and he smiled smugly.

She gave him a light punch on his shoulder.

"Are you ready for the second round?" The girl interrupted bringing in a milkshake on a tray. It was strawberry.

"Oh, I almost forgot" Temari said in surprise.

"Ugh, I'm so full already!" Shikamaru complained.

The milkshake got placed on the table and they sat back down again. They were sitting on opposite sides to each other.

Temari grabbed one of the straws and looked at it. Her jaw dropped.

"What's the matter?" Shikamaru questioned curiously, sort of scared about what the answer will be.

"Th-the straw…it's pi-nk" Temari stuttered

"_And_…?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow

"A-and it twists to a shape of a l-love h-heart"

"Ah…ok…and?"

"And someone's going to take a picture of us drinking out of these straws together out of the same cup."

Shikamaru paused. He caught on.

"Ok, get ready to drink. You have five minute and a picture will be taken. Ready?"

"Uh…got another straw?" Temari asked hesitantly

"No."

_Oh well…at least I tried…_

"Ok, now…go."

The started slurping away. It tasted good.

They saw a flash go and the started to blush a bit, yet again, but continued.

_We've already gotten this far…I'm not going to back down._ Temari thought.

They finished in time and they leaned back yet again out of exhaustion.

"Could we at least _see_ the photo?" Temari asked the girl

"Nope. It's a surprise till the end."

She groaned in response.

"Well congratulations for winning the challenge. Only two more pit stops to go.

This time they both groaned.

They finally got up and passed over their stamp card to get stamped. They stood at the exit hands still held together.

"Ready to go? You have 10 minutes to get to the next stop."

"Yeah I'm ready." Temari said a bit excited, yet exhausted.

"Mmm…troublesome…"

The girl took it as a yes, "Alright then. Go!"

They left the scene yet again and headed off to the next stop, not knowing what's ahead of them.

Too bad because it's going to be BIG and they're not going to like it…maybe.

* * *

One THOUSAND apologies that this chapter wasn't as good as the others!

I really hope it was ok! But forgive me because I'm sick and I have exams coming up!

Remember to review otherwise I'll slack off! XDD

The idea for the next one is brewing in my head and it really is going to be big!

What do you think it's going to be? I'll like to hear some guesses!

After the next chapter I'll return to 'The Playful Argument In The Hospital' because it is pretty neglected at the moment!

Sorry about that.

Holidays are coming so I might write more then depending on your response!

Oh I'm also open to ideas for another story that I might start!

Thank you all heaps for your support!

Chanel~


	6. Pit Stop 3:The VERY Troublesome Obstacle

Woo UPDATE!

I've suddenly found myself playing Vampire Knight DS for the second time~

OMGOMG SHIKI and ZERO!

Ok…moving on to important information…

I've made changes to the little ShikaTema moment at the end of chapter 2 because it didn't work with this chapter and it came too fast anyways…

So go and read it again if you wish…sorry about this~

Thanks to the following reviewer for being so AWESOME!

-loves-Tobi; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; Lupita; Miyuki Uzumaki; Marheavenchich; Watashi wad a D desu; Annah94; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha *high fives back*; DaKemz; mwto; firemageallanna; CattyGothLoli; snarloz; Anialis

You have no idea how much I love you guys! I could KISS you!

But it won't reach you through the computer screen~ XDD

Ok, no more jibber-jabber! Onto the story~

* * *

Yet again the favoured couple started running through the crowd trying to find their way to the next pit stop; which seemed to be located at tracks.

"What do you think the challenge will be this time?" Temari asked trying to break the silence and getting her mind off her stomach; which was starting to get cramps.

"Hopefully nothing to do with food" Shikamaru replied with a groan at his own painful stomach.

"Ugh, don't remind me…ouch!" Temari looked up to see who she bumped into and saw a fuzz of blonde spiky hair.

It was Naruto who was accompanied by Sasuke.

"Ah, sorry about that…oh Temari, Shikamaru! It's you two!" Naruto yelled

"Oh hey Naruto…Sasuke" Shikamaru replied

Sasuke nodded in response

"What are you guys doing?" Temari asked. _Maybe I shouldn't start conversation since we are on a rush…_

"Oh, we are in a…" Naruto paused, not sure whether to continue his sentence

"Treasure hunt." Sasuke finished for him

_Well that pause was kind of suspicious… _Shikamaru thought.

"That sounds like fun" Temari said now trying to end conversation.

Naruto's eyes narrowed looking down at their hands. "Are you guys going out?"

"Uh…" Temari's eyes widened not sure what to say

"I could say the same for you two" Shikamaru replied calmly, even though he himself was nervous.

Temari looked down to see that their hands were linked too.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Dobe over here was just really excited and dragged me along to run faster" Sasuke spoke grinning a little

"Yeah, what Sasuke said!" Naruto exclaimed acting excited again for no reason

"Sure…" Shikamaru mumbled under his breath grinning back

"What was th-" Sasuke began

"Well, we have to go now so, bye!" Temari ran off realising that time was ticking by.

So they left Sasuke and Naruto behind trying to get to their destination.

They finally reached the tracks to see a few couples sitting together on the benches.

"The fourth couple has arrived!" A man yelled telling the other organisers, then turned back to look at Temari and Shikamaru, "Hello you two! This is your second last pit stop! Here, take this ribbon!" he handed Temari a ribbon.

Temari took the ribbon and looked at it. What was she suppose to do with a piece of ribbon?

"You'll need to tie your legs together with that ribbon near the end of the obstacle course" he smiled creepily.

_Wait…does he mean a three legged race? That's never a good thing…_

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow, "Ok…mind telling us what we have to do?"

"Sure, this challenge is an obstacle race! You two have to do this whole obstacle course holding hands and get first place before you can continue to the last pit stop. The first obstacle is the hurdles. If you knock one down, you will have to pick it up again, regardless if you've cleared it or not. Next, you rock climb over the wall and you'll see a row of donuts hanged on a piece of string with a piece paper rolled in the hole. One of you must eat that doughnut with NO hands and the other can catch the piece of paper when it falls. When the donut is completely eaten, you can read the piece of paper and run to the table with the drawing materials on it. The person with the left hand free must draw a picture of what ever it says on the piece of paper from the doughnut and the judge must guess it correctly before you can move on. You are not allowed to speak to the judge by the way. After your picture gets guessed correctly, you crawl under the net on the floor and then when you reach a blue line, you tie your legs together with the ribbon and the three legged race starts. The first to cross the red finish line, wins! All clear?"

"Wow that's some long obstacle race…and how are we suppose to climb over the wall with our hands linked?" Temari asked with a mean look on her face

"You'll find a way." The man said

_Bastard_

"Man…how troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed

"Now, head to the starting line, the race will begin soon"

They reached the starting line with many other competitors.

"You will have to eat the doughnut…" Shikamaru told Temari

"Are you serious? No way! My stomach's already in pain as it is!" Temari argued

"Well, I have to grab the piece of paper and figure out how to draw what it says on it before I have to actually draw it; so it would make more sense if you ate it."

"You're just making excuses!" Temari hissed

"I'm not. It makes sense doesn't it? Pay attention Temari we've already made it this far!"

Temari glared, "Fine what ever, but if I die of bloated ness and cramps, you will pay for it!"

"Fine, fine…but first, lets figure out how to tie a ribbon around our legs with one hand each…"

Temari got the ribbon out of her pocket and realised that it was actually hard to tie with only one hand and she definitely needed Shikamaru's hand to help.

They finally figured out a way and undid the bow. The other competitors looked at them confused to why they tied their legs together and undid it again.

"Now they will be stuck when it's their turn to tie their legs together" Shikamaru grinned

Temari had to admit that he really was smart even though half the time he's too lazy to use his brain. _Wait, if he's actually using brainpower, does this mean that he's taking this seriously?_

"Alright everyone!" A guy yelled with a gun in his hand, "On your marks!"

Everyone stepped one foot out

"Get set!"

They all leaned forward in anticipation

"SPAGHETTI!"

Two of the competitors started running then stopped straight away realising what he had said.

"Wait, I haven't said go yet." He grinned

_No way am I going to fall for a stupid childish trick like that…_ Temari and Shikamaru thought

A few people in the audience boo-ed.

"Alright, sorry-sorry!" The guy apologised, "Get set!"

Everyone leaned forward yet again and the two competitors that had moved went back to the starting line.

"GO!" The gun went off.

Temari started running a bit faster but Shikamaru matched her pace very quickly and they were second in the lead. They glided over the hurdles not knocking a single one and faced the wall.

_Looks like I'm not the only one who's athletic…_

The other competitors except for the one in the lead had knocked down a couple of hurdles.

Temari and Shikamaru realised that they had to step identically mirror-imaged to each other to be able to climb up the wall. They also had to open up their palms from their linked hand only linking their fingers to grab hold of a 'rock'.

They were going better than the other couple on the wall, but then Temari slipped.

She let out a little scream.

Luckily their hands were already linked, so Shikamaru was strong enough to pull her up and get her to grip on one of the rocks again and reach to where he was.

"Thanks" she panted in relief

"Don't worry about it" he replied and they continued to climb up the wall.

They were in second place to another couple and Temari started biting away at the 'evil' doughnut.

"I'm…going…to…kill…you" She said while chewing massive bites.

"Hey, remember I just saved you from falling off the wall."

Temari swallowed the last bite and pouted.

Shikamaru grabbed the piece of paper on the floor and read it, 'cat'.

They ran to the table and Shikamaru started scribbling away. The couple in front of them had trouble drawing left-handed.

Even though Shikamaru's right-handed, he could also use his left hand quite well compared to many others. After all, there are many things geniuses can do as well as using their brains.

Temari watched him draw a bit awestruck on how straight his lines were seeing that his hand wasn't shaking at all. "I thought you said you were right-handed?"

"I am"

"Then why are you so good with your left?"

"I mainly _use_ my right, though it doesn't mean I can't use my left."

"Freak"

"Say what you want, but I would be thankful because we won't get stuck like the other two over there" beckoning to the couple with the judge shaking her head towards the picture.

"It's a cat" said the judge

"Correct" Shikamaru answered grinning at Temari

"Shut up" Temari pouted

Shikamaru grinned and they continued to run to the big net on the floor and started crawling fast. Their arms started to graze a bit from the floor but they continued diligently and were ahead at first place. Shikamaru and Temari's hair got caught on the net and fell out of their hair ties. None of them liked their hair down, but there was nothing they could do about it now. Finally, they got out of the net and reached the blue line. They tied their legs together and started walking fast seeing another couple just about to crawl out of the net.

Temari looked back again to see the couple fumbling with the ribbon and smirked. _Shikamaru was right…_

Unfortunately, since she was looking back, she lost her footing and tripped about to fall face first which is well…gonna hurt.

"Temari!" Shikmaru called out and placed himself under her trying to break her fall.

It was then that it happened.

Temari landed on top of him in an awkward position with each of her legs on either side of him.

Faces smooshed together.

Kissing.

In front of a big audience; which happened to consist of a very red Hinata and a grinning Kiba.

All that Temari was hoping at that moment was that her hair was long enough to cover up this 'incident'.

Oh how the most troublesome situation began.

* * *

Oh how I LOVE teasing poor Shikamaru and Temari…

Were any of you suspecting this? Was this chapter ok?

I hope you guys enjoyed it and a new chapter shall come soon!

Still thinking of ideas for a new story!

Please review~

Give me some motivation over the holidays!

Chanel~


	7. Pit Stop 3 part 2: An Awkward Situation

I don't own the characters or Naruto. If I did, there would have been a couple of shower scenes already ;D

Hello minna!

I've just come back from Queensland for a school 'camp', though it was more of a holiday ^_^

Thank you for being patient for this new chapter so I won't drabble on for much longer!

To the people who convinced me to start writing as soon as I got home! Your reviews really made me happy ^^

Watshi wa da D desu; Lupita; firemageallanna; shinobi89; Anialis; Annah94; Melted Glass; mwto; Anime Gal1425; VampirePigPenguin; snorlax; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; TsunaNarik

I love you all~

**kiss**

* * *

Something that was only a couple of seconds felt like a billion years.

Temari and Shikamaru laid frozen on the floor unable to move a muscle.

Temari started to swear in her head, _Oh shit, oh shit, oh SHIT! What do I do now?_

She suddenly got up as quick as possible and removed her lips from the frozen man on the floor under her named Shikamaru who seemed to be in a bit of a trance.

Shikamaru just looked up at her with his onyx orbs glazed over.

For once the genius was too stumped to move.

Temari got up a bit _too_ quick and forgot that their legs are still tied together and that their hands are also linked, so she fell back onto him again.

The impact seemed too have woken the frozen Shikamaru who made an 'oomph' sound as this happened.

They stared into each other's eyes, onyx orbs into teal enchanted by each other and still surprised about the recent event until…

"Oi! Shikamaru, Temari get UP! You are about to be taken over!" screamed a familiar voice from the audience

In sync, the couple looked towards the voice and saw Kiba and Hinata standing there. Kiba had his fist in the air.

"Go or you're going to lose!"

They both realised that they were still in the competition and the other competitors were gaining on them fast.

They somehow made it up from the floor and sprinted towards the finish line not daring to look at each other.

_Is she angry? Sad? Annoyed? What do I do? If I look at her, will I get dragged to hell? I want to see her expression! Shit, stop blushing, stop BLUSHING! _Shikamaru thought with his face bright red

Temari's face was also bright red; _I'm such a CLUTZ! What's worse is that Kiba and Hinata saw it all and wait until it spreads through out the whole school! What am I meant to say? I don't dare to look at him now!_

The couple gaining up on them fell over themselves - though not in the same way - and fell behind so Temari and Shikamaru took the lead and crossed the finish line.

The crowd cheered and you could hear Kiba clearly through the crowd.

They both stood past the finish line puffing, struggling for air still looking away from each other.

Shikamaru removed the ribbon tying their legs together and dared to look up at Temari's face.

His eyes caught hers instantly and they looked away from each other instantly in embarrassment

"So…umm…about-" Shikamaru stuttered and instantly got interrupted by Kiba

"Whoa, was that a close call or what?" Kiba yelled out, running towards them with Hinata

"Uh, yeah…" Shikamaru shifted a bit uncomfortably

"U-uh-umm…" Hinata stuttered, "Wh-what happened when you guys f-fell…?" her face flushed a little bit

Shikamaru and Temari paused at the question not sure how to answer it.

"Oh…that…umm…" Temari replied carefully thinking of how to answer

_Did they see what happened or didn't they? I can't stand to tell the truth…but what if they are just confirming what they saw and I lie? Then it'll just be awkward. Come on Shikamaru! Use that lazy genius brain of yours!_

"This troublesome woman over here decided to have a 'clumsy' moment at the wrong time and fell dragging me along with her. She crashed onto my chest and it hurt! So troublesome." Shikamaru answered for Temari

"O-Oh, of course" Hinata mumbled out as a reply

"Why? What did you think happened huh Hinata?" Temari grinned playing along

Hinata went bright red and looked like she was about to faint.

"We thought you guys kissed! But guess we were wrong." Kiba blurted out casually

_I guess they didn't see the whole picture. Thank god._

Akamaru barked.

"Oh, you're right Akamaru, we better get moving before we are late."

"Late for what?" Shikamaru asked

"Akamaru's entering a canine dressage contest here."

"Ok then, see you around soon"

"Goodbye" Hinata bowed

"Bye" Temari waved back and they parted.

"H-hey…" Shikamaru stuttered a bit, "about what happened before…"

"Yeah…" Blood started to rush to Temari's face, "what about it?"

"Well…what should we do?What should we say it as?"

"An accident…an accident that never happened. No one saw…so…"

"I guess…" Shikamaru's words drifted off.

"Why, were you hoping for something to happen?"

"Don't be ridiculous" his cheeks started to brighten up pink

"You're starting to blush" Temari chimed and placed her index finger on his chest giving him a sassy look.

"Says you" he started to go redder in the face seeing Temari with her curved lips and hair down.

"You know, I'm surprised that Kiba and Hinata didn't even ask why we were even in this competition" Temari commented trying to get of the topic.

"Hinata's too shy to ask more than one question per a conversation and Kiba never looks into the smaller details. He's pretty straight forward in a way…"

"I guess I don't really know much about our group huh?"

"No one expects you to. You've only been here for a short time."

"Why does it feel so _long_ then?"

"Because life's troublesome. That's all there is to it"

"Well, could you tell me a bit about everyone and fill in the blanks while we wait for this thing to end?"

"Do I really have to?" Shikamaru complained

"Yes, if you know what's good for you"

"Fine, fine…troublesome woman…"

Temari flashed a huge smile.

"Ok, where to start…" Shikamaru thought deeply, "Let's start with Naruto. Believe it or not, he's actually an orphan. His parents died when he was really young. He was also a delinquent. The whisker shaped scars apparently came from an unfortunate result from a fight. He was fostered for a while, but decided to live by himself instead because he was sick of being moved around a lot and wanted to settle."

"But he always acts so happy. How can you smile like that with no family? How does he pay the rent?"

"He has a small apartment and works. Plus the government gives him enough money to keep him a float. He pretty much only eats at Ichiraku Ramen which is a noodle bar, so he can score a free meals sometimes since he's good friends with the owner and a regular customer."

"Oh, I would be sick of having to move all the times to different schools. I already felt sick having to only become an exchange student for the first time ever."

"Yeah, having to remember all the different school grounds would be annoying after all. Ok, moving on to Sasuke. Sasuke's family was the previous leader of the police corp. They were proud of the 'Uchiha' name and gained a lot of respect keeping the streets safe. Unfortunately, the whole family messed with a big yakuza group who created an alliance with other big groups and killed everyone in their family; except for Sasuke and his Older Brother. He was only 8 years old at the time."

"How come only they escaped?"

"Well, Sasuke was at school and I guess it wasn't worth the trouble for them. As for his Older Brother Itachi, he was out on camp and didn't find out till the day after on his return."

"Do they get along well?"

"Not at all. You see, Itachi joined the Yakuza group that massacred their family. Now Sasuke finds him a disgrace and swears to get at him someday."

"Why the hell would he join a group that killed his own family?"

"I have no idea…but I can tell it's something you won't want to mess with"

"Who would have known he had such a deep and dark past."

"Yeah, our whole group is pretty messed up, but well…that's why we stick together. Now, Kiba; he's pretty average in comparison, but his family has a thing with dogs. They all have a dog or two each and they are known for winning MANY competitions. Some also do performances and have become pretty famous from it."

"Wow, Kiba's family is partially famous? Explains why his best friend is Akamaru"

"True. But if you want to talk about famous, Chouji's dad is Chouza Akimichi"

"The famous sumo wrestler?"

"The one and only"

"That's so cool! Explains why Chouji's so f-"

"SSH! That's word is totally forbidden, especially around Chouji ok? If you say it, only destruction comes afterwards. Trust me, I know being his childhood best friend"

"Ok, ok I won't."

"Good, now if you want to talk about prestigious, then you must means the Hyuuga's"

"You mean Hinata?"

"And Neji. They're cousins"

"They're cousins? I know they look similar, but they act so different"

"Well different environments do that to you. Their dads were twins. Hinata's from the 'main' branch and is the heiress of the _huge_ Hyuuga co. While Neji's from the 'side' branch and his dad died a while ago"

"Wait, do you mean THE Hyuuga co? Like the company that specialises in sports equipment and technology goods?"

"Yes, that one"

"Wow, and Hinata's going to take it over?"

"Well, there are a few complications. I don't know much because they are very hush about it, but apparently Hinata's dad isn't very fond or proud of Hinata and doesn't want her to take over even though she was the first child. He's considering her little sister Hanabi instead. Then their's Neji. He's the genius of their family and it would be good to have him as the head, but the higher-ups are complaining, saying that he can't because he's not from the main branch"

"Geez, that sounds really messed up and confusing"

"It is, and that's only the surface"

"Shit"

"Ok, moving on. Lee's probably the most simple of them all, yet the most enigmatic in a way."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't really know much about his family or background. All I know is that he's an only child who used to get teased a lot because he wasn't particularly good at anything instead of sport and P.E. That's why he started training hard to exceed in only P.E and sport. Now he's pretty popular for being good at the sport clubs and winning a lot of trophies"

"I would tease him for his haircut"

Shikamaru laughed, "Unique isn't it? Inspired by the one and only Gai"

They laughed for a bit and Shikamaru continued his speech.

"Ok, the girls. I don't know much about all of them, so if you want to know more, you could ask them yourself since they'll probably tell you anyway. Tenten is very much like Lee to me. I don't know much except for the fact that she has a really good aim at archery and is a bit of a tomboy who does karate. Ino is also my childhood friend along with Chouji and her family owns the big florist in town. She a typical girl who loves shopping and is obsessed with idols"

"I could figure that out by just looking at her"

"Well, I've told you about Hinata already so that leaves Sakura. She's a part of the tennis club and has both her mother and father. She used to be teased a lot as a little kid about her big forehead and Ino helped her out so they are now best friends even though the don't act like it sometimes, She's really smart and logical."

"Her grades are good?"

"She's normally in the top ten in the exam grades"

"Cool"

"Well, that's everyone" Shikamaru yawned, exhausted from the amount of talking and tasks they had to do.

"You forgot someone…" Temari commented

"Really? Who?"

"Yourself"

"Oh, you wanted me to include myself?"

"Well you are part of the group"

"Ok, I have a _very_ troublesome woman as a mother and a father that I don't always understand. We own a deer farm and we also create new medicine and cures for all types of diseases using the antlers and such"

"Wow, so your family are like scientists?"

"I guess you can call us that. What about yourself"

"It sounds like I fit in all too well. My father's the principal of my previous school and a bastard at that. He never cares for my brothers, or me nor does he try to. He's never home so we always eat without him which is better anyway"

"What about your mother?"

"She passed away a long time ago giving birth to Gaara, my little brother"

"Oh, sorry"

"It's ok now…it was a long time ago. I'm over it now"

"There's no way you can get over a death of a loved one even in a long time" Shikamaru replied in a serious tone

Temari's eyes widened looking at this new face of Shikamaru.

"Shika-"

"Congratulations on winning. Here's your stamp card. Are you ready to go to the next stop?" said a random girl who popped out of no where giving the two a bit of a shock

"Ah, sure…we're ready…" Temari answered

"Ok, the next destination is marked on the map. You have ten minutes to get there. This is the last pit stop so good luck!"

_Finally, the last one of this troublesome game. Though I have to admit it was enjoyable in some ways. _Shikamaru thought to himself.

"When I sound the whistle, you can move to the next stop. Ready?"

They both nodded.

"Go!"

They ran off towards their last destination hoping for the best.

Of course, something's going to unravel soon…

* * *

Ok I've finally finished it!

It's a little longer than the others due to explaining the characters in more depth preparing for the future.

I hope it wasn't too much drabble.

This chapter wasn't that great. I'm sorry!

Also, sorry about the grammar mistakes! It's 2:30am right now and I'm drowsy from my trip.

Good Night everyone and Sweet Dreams!

Remember to review, btu I'm sure you already know that ^_^

Chanel~


	8. Pit Stop 4: An Evil Awakening

WOW! 100 REVIEWS!

Gosh I'm bouncing off the walls!

I really thank you ALL for reading and reviewing!

Because of this, even though it's 2 o'clock in the morning, I'm going to write and post this chapter up!

WOO! Yappai!

Ok, enough of that…

I didn't update last week because I had to write a fanfic for a competition.

I've uploaded it.

Unfortunately, I was so disorganised that I only had 1 hour before deadline, so I worked like a crazy person and it took all of the energy out of me.

You're probably thinking 'you've already uploaded this story! (Please wake me up from this nightmare)

But that was the wrong one; it was full of mistakes and only a quarter of it was done.

So now I'm recharged (yet tired) and working on Konoha High again.

My love goes to the following for your reviews, convincing me to write at crazy hours: Amaya-UchihAandMadarA4-life; Fallen-Angel-Princess; Lupita; Anime Gal1425; . .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; fullflipgurl; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; mwto; VampirePigPenguin; TsunaNarik; Annah94; firemageallanna; nikashannaro10; SoundsRight; 16hmmm16 (Your FLAME was lovely XD) and MsEvilbabe

I really owe it up to all of you guys! (Besides a certain flame)

Anyway, enough jibber-jabber (I know you like it Ari-chan)

Onto the story!

* * *

Hands sweaty from the friction between the two hands constantly clinging to one another, the whistle had blown and yet again they were off, ready to face any challenge in front of them.

Or, so they thought…

'_The last one huh? I know it's not going to be easy…'_ Temari thought to herself, '_But, I feel like I've gotten closer to Shikamaru after all of this, plus I got to get to know everyone more…'_

"Hey, troublesome woman…" Shikamaru called

"I have a name you know!" Temari snapped

"Fine, Troublesome Temari then…" Shikamaru grinned

"Ugh," Temari sighed, "I'll let that one slide, what is it?"

"We've been through a lot haven't we? All in one day…I wonder what everyone's doing at the moment"

"Well, I guess some of the competitions have ended already. Do you think they won? Neji and…uh…Lee? Oh, and Akamaru too!"

"I haven't seen Neji lose to anyone, except for Naruto. Lee's passion would probably outshine everyone he's up against and Akamaru is the smartest dog I've known, plus his bond with Kiba is unbreakable, so to me, they are the winners no doubt"

"You really do believe in your friends, huh?" Temari smiled

Shikamaru slightly blushed, "Tch! It's not about belief; it's just the plain facts"

"Yeah right, you're totally denying it. Wait a second, why are we even doing this competition anyway? I've totally forgotten…"

"We got tricked into it by a salesman who lacks explanation and made me spend five dollars. I also remember a prize…"

"To a hot springs isn't it?" Temari completed Shikamaru's sentence

"Yeah, I think so. So what are we going to do with it?"

"What do you mean? Do with what?"

"The prize obviously"

"Still don't see where you're heading"

"Well, it's a ticket for two; which means only two people can go" Shikamaru started to turn a few shades

"I can figure the math out by myself, Einstein"

"Right, so what are you doing with your ticket?"

"I'm going to go obviously! Aren't you?"

"You really don't get it. Imagine. Us two, going to a hot spring, together, just us two, overnight trip"

Temari finally got the picture. Going on an overnight trip with someone who isn't even her boyfriend definitely isn't what she was expecting.

Her face brightened up a shade of pink a little bit, "S-so? We're just going as f-friends" Temari stuttered a little trying to act cool; which became a hard task.

"I understand that; but it's just a little forward and I was wondering if you're comfortable with it. After all, it's hard enough on people who are actually going out. Also, since it's a prize from a 'Love Game', we probably also have to share a bedroom…" Shikamaru's face became completely red.

Temari was now starting to turn red, "W-well, I trust you enough to not attack me in the middle of the night; though you won't live if you even try it. Anyway, let's worry about it when we actually WIN the prize. No point putting effort in thinking about it now"

"Your right, it's getting too troublesome already"

There was an awkward silence between the two.

Their faces returned to a normal shade.

"I think this is it…" Shikamaru stated looking at their map

"…Hello" said an eerie voice behind them

"Aah!" Temari and Shikamaru cried, startled from the sudden voice from behind.

"Welcome Love Game contestants. You have reached your final destination on time" the voice continued in a monotone tone.

They both slowly turned around to see where the voice was coming from in a stiff motion.

There stood a little girl wearing a white robe covered in blood.

'_I-I didn't even sense her presence…'_ they both thought to themselves, relieved it was just a girl covered in blood.

'_Wait…blood…?'_

"Aye aye me harties!" called out yet another voice from behind

"AAH!" the pair yelled out in fright yet again.

"Ah, sorry maties! Gotta stop startlin' people like that now don't I?" the voice laughed

The couple turned around yet again to see a boy around the same age as them dressed as a pirate.

"Ha ha! Welcome to the last stop! I hope my ghost friend didn't give you a scare. Don't worry 'bout the red, it's fake, but it sure looks real doesn't it!" the boy laughed again

'_I have a feeling this stop is going to be REALLY troublesome'_ Shikamaru contemplated to himself letting out a sigh

'_Of course the blood's fake! Temari, you are truly an idiot! Damn she makes a good ghost…'_ Temari thought, mentally bashing herself

"Now don't space out on me maties! Ya wanna hear 'bout your last challenge right?"

"R-right…" Temari finally spoke finishing up her mental bashing

"Well, it all starts with a story 'bout a brave pirate! He trekked through raging storms, high seas and endless nights to find the greatest treasure of all! When he did, he was as happy as he could ever be, but unfortunately, on his way back, his whole crew caught the deadly scurvy and died in the middle of nowhere and the treasure was lost forever. We recently just found a clue that he left behind and we want you to solve it and find the treasure!"

'_What a typical story line…' _Temari thought to herself yet again

'_Let me guess, the pirate's name is Black beard' _Shikamaru grinned

"Oh yes, the one and only legendary pirate was non other than Black beard himself!"

'_Bingo'_

"Ok! Yumi, please give these two the clue and let them on their way"

"Here" the ghost Yumi handed them the clue, still speaking in a monotone voice

'_She really gives me the creeps…' _Shikamaru quoted grabbing hold of the clue.

"Alright, off you two go!" the pirate gave them a little push and Shikamaru and Temari walked away.

"What does the clue say?" Temari asked as they walked in no particular direction

"Uh, lets see…" Shikamaru opened the little piece of paper that he was given, "To thee who wants to find the treasure must go through the scariest challenges of all full of monsters and darkness. If thee make it, then thee shall be given the next clue"

"Is that all?"

"That's all…"

"Now we just need it in PROPER ENGLISH! Why couldn't they just say 'Hey, go here and get the treasure. The end', instead of screwing with our heads with riddles"

"Because they want to make our lives more troublesome…" Shikamaru let out a sigh

"Well it sucks!" Temari stomped her foot

"Now, now, there's no need to get so worked up about it. What about we start from the start and solve it slowly? Let's see…what do you think is the scariest challenge of all with monsters and the dark in a festival?"

"You know, that girl, what's her name, Yumi is what I found scary"

"Yeah, she just screamed out haunted house…wait a minute…"

"Haunted house! That's it! Monsters, the dark and being scared! It all fits together"

"Well then, shall we go to the Haunted House Troublesome Temari?"

"What's with the nickname, lazy ass?"

"Nothing. It suits you perfectly though. You're not scared of Haunted Houses or anything are you?"

"Are you kidding? The Haunted House is probably some crappy class room with black paper stuck to the windows to block out the light with students running around wearing a white sheet over their heads" Temari scoffed in response.

"I don't know…Mist High are known for their cruel techniques and whacked ideas. I heard last year that a few people had to go to hospital afterwards. That girl Yumi was a good example of their ability. I wouldn't be surprised if you start getting cold feet"

"Tch! Don't make me sound so weak! I betcha that you'll be the one that needs saving afterwards"

"Whatever…Troublesome Temari…"

The grinned at each other and headed towards the big haunted house.

Little did they know that what they were about to face is going to bring more trauma than they'll ever experience in their whole life.

* * *

Sorry about the short, meaningless chapter!

It's all in preparation for the next chapter which Temari and Shikamaru are never going to forget!

Doesn't haunted houses in a school festival SCREAM Shojo?

If I haven't got too much homework, I'll update sooner~

Providing I get some reviews of course! XDD (I'm kidding, but it would be nice)

Hope you all have a good week!

Thanks again for your support! I shall continue being a trooper!

Chanel~


	9. Pit Stop 4 Part 2: Hide and Seek

I have a math test coming up and since I've received so many lovely reviews, I've brought out a new chapter early!

Yay!

Anyone read my one shot yet? Not the best thing, but it was rushed XDD

Of course my love goes out to my beautiful reviewers (you know who you are): TsunaNarik; fullflipgurl; VampirePigPenguin; Oh My Kira; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; Amaya-UchihAandMadarA4-life; mwto; MsEvilBabe; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; Anime Gal1425; Lupita; Temari1234x

Ok, Haunted Houses! It just SCREAMS Shojo, so I'm going to give a Shojo-y chapter!

I hope you enjoy it ^_^

* * *

"So much for a crappy classroom with people dressed in sheets" Shikamaru commented while being stared down by a very creepy, rundown, old mansion.

"Wow, they really outdid themselves huh?" Temari stated trying to take in the image

"Getting cold feet now?" Shikamaru grinned

"Psh! It's just a rundown, half-dead beaten mansion with cobwebs, spiders, creepy bugs and most likely haunted with portraits of people who eyes move. What's there to be scared of?" Temari scoffed

"Umm…everything?"

Temari's face went a little pale, but soon lightened up again, "I keep telling you, don't underestimate me!"

She stomped off towards the creepy mansion.

Shikamaru let out a sigh and walked along with her a few steps behind.

"…Welcome…" a voiced whispered in their ears.

"Aah!" the pair yelled again and turned around to see the girl Yumi again.

"Hello…are you ready for what ever you have to face?" she spoke in an eerie tone

They gulped, '_she's gotta stop doing that or I'm going to get a heart attack…'_

"Y-yeah…" Shikamaru replied a little shaken up

"Very well, please sign this contract before you go in" she handed them a couple of sheets of paper.

They both read it.

I (insert name) will take full responsibility of what may happen and what damage may be caused to myself when I enter the Haunted House and will press no charges towards the school or cause any damage towards the students. I (insert name) willingly agreed to enter the Haunted House on my own accord and was not forced to in any way.

Date:

Signature:

Their blood froze.

"Well, this is comforting…" Temari spoke after reading the contract

"Ugh, this is going to be _real_ troublesome…" Shikamaru groaned.

They filled out and signed the contract a little reluctant and handed it over to Yumi.

Shikamaru had a bit of trouble signing with his left hand, but managed.

"Thank you. You may enter the Haunted house now. Enjoy your time and I hope you give a good scream"

"Uh…thanks?" Temari questioned if that was the right response.

"Wait, before you go. Take this call button. If you're stuck, can no longer take the pressure or just too plain scared, press the button and we'll come collect you and its game over."

She handed the controller over to them.

Shikamaru took grab of it, shoved it in his pocket and gave Yumi a nod.

They entered the mansion through big, heavy iron doors and looked around the inside.

There was a large staircase going in two directions and the whole area was lit up by a dim chandelier above their heads.

A huge slamming noise was heard behind them and that was when they realised that the door had just closed them in.

A shiver went up Temari's spine, "S-so which way Einstein?"

Shikamaru looked both ways and thought for a bit, "I don't think it matters which way you go because somehow they'll force you to go both ways anyway, so let's try the staircase on the left"

So they went up the staircase and stood in front of the door.

Temari took a deep breath and opened up the door.

The room was pitched black. Shikamaru stepped one foot in and the sound of a piano could be heard.

It started to play Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, which is a very nice piece in itself, but played in a pitched black room in a haunted house can really do wonders on your heart.

"W-what should we do?" Temari asked with her throat all dry and her heart beating fast

"I guess we shou-" Shikamaru got cut off because someone or some_thing _had pushed them hard in to the room and the door closed shut behind them.

Temari tried to pry open the door, but it was useless. "Oh great, we just fell for that one!"

Shikamaru sighed and got up, "Damnit, I can't see a damn thing in here"

"Wait, I'll turn on my mobile for some light" she turned on her mobile to see a face covered in blood shown up right in front of her.

"KYAA!" she screamed and dropped her phone.

"Temari! What happened?" Shikamaru asked not seeing the face

"A f-face covered in b-blood just suddenly came up in front of m-me" she stuttered out still in shock

"Don't worry," he picked up the mobile with his other hand and shone the light onto the face, "It's just a picture"

Shikamaru helped her off the floor

A few eerie giggles could be heard in the air.

The piano continued to play.

Temari gripped onto Shikamaru tightly with her other hand still a little shaken up.

A spotlight lit up onto the piano which spun around playing on its own.

"It's playing on its own?" Temari stared at the piano

Shikamaru grinned, "Yeah, it probably has one of those machines in it to make it do that. A really old fashioned trick"

Then they heard the sound of some string instruments play and a spotlight shone on some cellos, violins, violas and double basses. They were also playing on their own.

"Ok, I'm not sure how _they_ can play on their own though" Shikamaru quoted

Then a harp also came up and the strings on it vibrated when played.

"I-I'm not sure how the harp plays either…" Shikamaru even started to stutter a bit

Temari bit her bottom lip.

Then the whole room span and the giggles turned into laughs and the music got louder and louder.

The giggles sounded like they came from children and they kept repeating 'ring-a-ring-a-rosie…"

"W-what do we do Shikamaru?" Temari started to shake a bit

"I…don't know…"

The voices stopped chanting, "What's your name?" it spoke

"It's Shikamaru" Shikamaru answered

"A-and Temari" Temari replied hesitantly

"We can't hear you~" the voice echoed

"SHIKAMARU"

"TEMARI!"

The voices giggled yet again, "Ok, then lets play hide and seek!"

The music abruptly stopped and the room was no longer spinning.

A row of candles lit up and lead to another door.

"Sh-should we go?" Temari asked

"Yeah, it beats staying in here"

Temari continued to cling to Shikamaru's arm, while swallowing her pride, and they entered the next room.

The door closed behind them like usual and they stepped into a small, empty room.

"What's with this?" Temari questioned out loud, slightly recovered from the previous experience.

"I don't know"

They stepped further into the room slowly and then suddenly they heard a 'click'.

Shikamaru looked down at his foot to see the tile under his foot had sunken.

"Shit, this can't be good"

The walls started moving and closing in on them.

"Shit, what are we going to do?" Temari said a little panicked

"Wait, let me think"

"There's not much time to think Shikamaru!"

"Well, what else do you suggest to do?"

The walls were starting to get a little too close for comfort.

"Wait, look at the floor Shikamaru!" Temari exclaimed.

There were footprints engraved on the floor.

"I guess it's worth a try"

They stood on each footprint and the walls stopped, inches away from their shoulders preparing to crush them.

"Phew" Temari let out a sigh

"That was close" Shikamaru slumped a bit

"Do you think it would've actually squashed us?"

"Since we had to sign a contract, I wouldn't be surprised…"

Then the floor gave way.

"Oh shit!" they both yelled and they fell through the hole and slid down a winding tunnel not knowing which way they were going due to darkness.

"KYAA!" Temari let out

'_Oh god, did I just 'kyaa'. This hot springs better be worth it!'_

They both landed with a thud on the cold hard floor.

"Ouch…" Temari let out wincing at the pain

"Ugh…that hurt…" Shikamaru complained rubbing his head.

"Where are we now?" Temari asked

"I have no idea, but hopefully near the end…"

"I agree…hey, what's that?" Temari pointed her finger at something on the wall

It was a hand sticking out of the wall.

"It's a hand…"

"I know it's a hand! But what are we meant to do?"

"I have no idea, but there's absolutely nothing else in this room"

They got up from the floor and slowly and carefully walked towards the hand sticking out of the wall.

There was a little sign on top of it saying 'Hold my hand and let's start playing hide and seek!'

"Didn't those creepy voices say something about hide and seek?" Shikamaru wondered

"Yeah, they did. So, should we grab it?

"Well there's nothing else we can do…"

Temari reached out her hand to go grab the hand.

"Wait, let me do it" Shikamaru said stopping Temari's hand

"Why?"

"It's probably dangerous…"

"I don't need you to protect me you know!" Temari snapped and grabbed the hand fast due to impulse.

"Tch, no wait…"

But it was too late, the hand gripped onto Temari's once she grabbed it.

"Ah! What the- it won't let go!" Temari tried to pull her hand back, but it wouldn't let go.

"This is why you shouldn't have grabbed the hand!"

"It wouldn't have made a difference if you had grabbed it either! Just make it let go!"

Shikamaru started pounding at the hand, but it was as hard as stone and wouldn't let go.

The hand started to move and pulled Temari towards it.

"Aah! Now it's pulling me in!"

"How's that possible? There's only a wall!"

"I don't know, but its working!"

Temari's hand started to sink into the wall.

Shikamaru tried to pull her away, but she just sunk further into the wall.

Half of her body was already in the wall.

"Damnit, I really am going to be sucked in"

"There's got to be a w-" the floor gave way under his feet

"Shit, not again" Shikamaru cussed

And he fell through the floor

"SHIKAMARU!" Temari cried.

"Ugh, where am I?" Shikamaru looked around, "No way…is this a-a MAZE?"

Right in front of him stood a massive maze.

"Shikamaru! SHIKAMARU!" Temari's voice called

Shikamaru looked around him to see where she was.

"Temari? Is that you? Where are you?" Shikamaru called out

"Of course it's me you lazy ass! I'm here!"

_She's as charming as ever…oh well; at least she's still ok…_

He ran into the maze and looked up.

She was hanging on the ceiling trapped in an hour glass.

Sand started to run down to the bottom, where she was located.

"Now, let's play hide and seek!" The voices could be heard again as they started giggling.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru yelled out, not knowing who to.

"If you want to free your partner, then you have to find four pieces of the puzzle that makes up the key to free her" a voice explained

"But quick, or she'll drown in the sand and you lose~" another voice continued

"You put the pieces together at the centre of the maze" a different voice explained

"Ready? Start!"

Shikamaru ran further in the maze trying to find the pieces of the puzzle.

_Whoever made this haunted house is twisted. I can see how people may want to press charges and have to go to hospital afterwards._

He put one of his hands in his pocket and felt the controller. _She'll kill me if I use this, but if it has to come to that…_

He looked at his hands, "They feel so…empty…"

He kept to the left so he knew how to get back to the start again and take a different path.

"Idiot, you're going the wrong way!"

Shikamaru looked up at Temari whose ankles were already covered in sand.

"What?"

"You're going the wrong way, go back to the corner before and turn right and one of the keys is there.

Going back to the previous corner, he found a piece of the puzzle and following another set of instructions, he found another.

The sand was up to her hips.

After another set of instructions, he found one more.

_If we keep this up, she'll be free soon._

Finally the final piece was found and now he had to go to the centre.

The sand was up to her chest.

He looked up at her, "Where's the centre?"

Temari replied and the centre was found.

Things were going great, but this puzzle was no ordinary puzzle.

There was more than four pieces; there was another 2996 pieces left.

And no picture to compare with.

"Damnit! Why so many?"

"SHIKAMARU!" Temari cried

He looked up to see that she was covered in sand up to her shoulders.

"Don't worry, I just need to finish this!"

_There's no time to think and worry, I have to finish this puzzle!_

He started to work like a mad man trying to put the pieces together.

It was hard, _really_ hard.

About two thirds of the way Temari called out again, "Quick Shikamaru! I can't...move anymore!"

He looked up to see it was up to her collarbone.

_Shit! I have to be quicker._

He continued and only got to three quarters of the puzzle done when the sand hit her chin.

He couldn't seem to fit the last few pieces together.

_I have no choice but to use the…_

He grabbed the call button out of his pocket and was about to press it when…

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

He looked up at what remains of Temari.

"We've been through so much, so DON'T YOU DARE THROW IT ALL AWAY!"

"But, you're about to-"

"Shut up! No more excuses and just finish the puzzle!"

"But I can't. The pieces just don't fit right!"

"And they call you a genius! What happened to the cocky, brainy, lazy smart ass I know?"

Shikamaru paused.

"Don't forget who you are! You are a freakin' **genius** and you're letting a puzzle get to you?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened and he grinned.

"Just solve that puzzle and get us out of here! Use that brain of yours! Don't worry about me; I'll be fine for now."

Shikamaru took a deep breath and pressed his fingers together.

_Concentrate Shikamaru, concentrate. There has to be a reason why all of the pieces don't fit…_

His eyes flicked open.

_Could it really be that simple?_

He shook his head, _anything would do right now._

Quickly, he got one of the pieces and sat it out while adjusting the other pieces to fit and they clicked together.

The sand stopped running and Temari was safe.

_Smart asses, they put an extra piece in it to add confusion._

The sand started to drain and the hour glass lowered to the floor in front of Shikamaru and opened up.

Temari ran out of it and clung to Shikamaru's chest.

"I-I thought I was gone for a moment…thank god!" she cried in relief

Shikamaru smiled with relief and put his arms around her, "It's ok now. It's over"

"Well done on winning the game! Please move forward to exit the mansion" the ominous voice spoke for the last time.

Shikamaru and Temari's eyes flicked open realising what they were doing.

They let go really quickly looking away with their faces bright red.

The maze walls collapsed and it showed the way to the exit.

"Well…" Shikamaru held his hand out still looking away, "Let's get out of here once and for all"

Temari looked at him and saw that he was blushing too and smiled, "Yeah"

She took his hand and they walked out of the Haunted House together hand-in-hand.

* * *

Phew, that was a decent chapter if I say so myself.

It was a little longer to make up for the shorter one before.

I hope I created a scary enough image in you minds when you were reading this.

It's my first attempt at writing thriller/horror so I hope I did it well enough!

Don't ask how you can sink into a wall or what ever, just call it 'Mist Technology'.

Ended up not being _too_ shojo-y, but I don't like making ShikaTema too fluffy anyway because in a way they are much too mature for that…unless it's a life-death situation ;D

Oh I really did torture them well in this one~

Much love and please review like usual!

Chanel~


	10. Pit Stop 4 Part 3: Sasuke in a DRESS!

Sorry everyone for the huge delay~

I've been really busy and depressed because I've just lost a camera full of memories at an anime convention…

Wish me luck finding it!

Anyway, thanks for your patience…I wonder what Temari and Shikamaru will be up to next?

Can you believe we're up to the tenth chapter already?

Time really flies! I'm so happy that Konoha High has made it this far!

It just so happen that the tenth chapter comes out on Temari's Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Temari for August 23rd!

Let's all celebrate! ^_^

Much love and thanks to the following reviewers that have lifted my spirits: SoundsRight; DaKemz; Amaya-UchihAandMadarA4-life; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; MsEvilBabe; ThatGirl96; firemageallanna; MajorStranger; Annah94; Lupita; mwto; Shikatema52007; Amanda; VampirePigPenguin; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; Oh My Kira; Anialis (x2); KonohaKin; Toriga-Okami; Ann

You guys make me such a Storm Trooper (don't ask)

Enjoy!

* * *

Temari and Shikamaru walked out of the sick and terribly traumatising Haunted House hand in hand as usual.

"Hey, everyone! Someone ELSE actually escaped out of the Haunted House in tact!" yelled out a girl who looked at them dumbfounded.

"Where? Where? Is that even possible?" a boy ran to where they were fast looking around.

They both looked at Shikamaru and Temari and paused for a moment…

"Congrats, CONGRATS! You're the second couple to get through the Haunted House alive!" they both screamed in there faces.

Party poppers and streamers went off everywhere.

Temari just looked at them glumly.

Shikamaru wiped the spit off his face.

"What's the matter with you two? Cat got ya tongue?" the boy bent down to look at Temari

"What's the matter? What's the MATTER?" Temari started to steam, "I TELL YOU WHAT'S THE MATTER! I thought I was going to DIE and be DROWNED by frikin' SAND!" She grabbed the boys collar, "If I find out that you're the one who made this SICK and DISGUSTING Haunted House, I'm going to re-arrange your FACE!" Temari gritted her teeth staring down at the boys face, still holding his collar.

Shikamaru looked at the outraged Temari a tad frightened, but then he looked at the face of the terrified boy and grinned, he could feel the pain, almost like déjà vu. He was too tired and lazy to hold her back, after all, he agreed with her. Someone needed to pay for making him put in more effort than what he's comfortable with.

"Whoa, whoa…hold it girl! I di-didn't make this thing. I'm just here to congratulate those who pass so please don't hurt me. I didn't do anything…plus, you want the next clue right?" the boy said still looking frightened.

Temari huffed and let the poor boy go gasping for air.

"What would've happened if we went through the other door?" Shikamaru asked the boy.

The boy was still gasping for air, "Nothing. It would've been the same. The people who made this just wanted to scare the shit out of everyone entering with suspense and pressure from having to make a choice hoping for the best".

"I guess that's kind of smart…" Shikamaru thought out loud.

"H-here, your next clue…enjoy!" The girl stuttered and gave it to Shikamaru avoiding their gazes.

Shikamaru looked at the piece of paper he was given while they walked away aimlessly as far as possible from the fright behind them.

"What does it say?" Temari asked

"POP a question and get your next clue…that's all it says"

"What does that mean?"

"Well, let's take a look again. 'Pop' is in capitals, so that's got to mean something"

"Do they mean 'pop' as in a sound effect?"

"Like a balloon?"

"Yeah…balloons…ah wait Shikamaru, look!" Temari pointed at something ahead.

Shikamaru looked for what she was pointing at and saw a sign saying, 'Balloon Quiz Mosh Pit. Win big prizes!'.

"Sounds good enough for me" Shikamaru shrugged and walked towards the sign with Temari next to him.

They reached the destination and went to the service desk, "Uh, can we get the next clue here?" Temari asked.

A boy with glasses looked up at her and smirked, "Yeah, good job finding us. I see you two somehow made it out of that hell hole alive. Ready for the next challenge?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Sure, tell us what to do".

"Ok. On your right there's a pit full of balloons. Find one with a love heart with both of your initials in it and bring it back here. Pop it and answer the question inside correctly and you'll get the next clue. Understood?"

Shikamaru and Temari both nodded, too exhausted to say anything more.

"Wait a minute," Temari thought for a moment, "Why is there a balloon with our initials in it?"

"Well, you don't think we planned this before you got here?"

Temari shrugged, "Fair enough."

They went to their right and faced a large pit, hoarding with colourful balloons. There could have been easily over 500 hundred balloons in there.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru quoted

"We have to look through ALL of this?" Temari cried out

They started to step into the pit and slowly moved while picking up various balloons looking at them for the right symbol.

After ten minutes, they finally found it.

"Good job, let's get out of here" Shikamaru grinned looking at the little love heart drawn on the balloon with their initial in it in Temari's hand.

"What kind of question could it be I wonder?" Temari said staring at the balloon in her hand.

"Hopefully one we can answer easily"

They went to where the boy with glasses was and popped the balloon and retrieved the clue inside it.

"You found the balloon a little faster than what we hoped, but oh well. Your question is: How far off the ground can a Nimbostratus cloud be?"

_The questions about a CLOUD? Who on earth would know that? _Temari thought.

"It can be as high as 8000 feet, or as low as 350 feet off the ground" Shikamaru answered straight out without thinking.

Temari blinked at him.

The boy with the glasses blinked at him.

"What?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"How the hell did you know that?" Temari yelled out.

"I don't watch clouds for nothing…" Shikamaru let out a sigh.

Glasses boy laughed, "You're both quite an interesting couple. I hope you win the Hot Spring tickets." He handed them the next clue.

Temari took it, "We're not a couple"

"Right, whatever you say~" The boy chimed

Shikamaru sighed too lazy to deny anything.

The pair walked away from the boy to the main path and stood next to one of the building walls.

"Ok, let's read what this clue says…" Temari opened up the piece of paper, "The next clue has been with you from the very start. Haha." she read out.

"From the very start?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Yep, that's what it says. They even wrote 'haha' quite immaturely."

"What did we have from the start?" Shikamaru asked

"Uh, let's see…it has to be something they have given us since they would have to plant the clue somewhere. So we got the stamp book, map…uh…"

"The necklaces. It has to be the necklaces…" Shikamaru blurted out.

"You mean the lock and key pendants we're wearing?"

"Yeah, it's the only thing we haven't fully handled yet."

"I guess it's worth a try. We should try to unlock the lock with the key."

They tried to take off the necklaces, but they couldn't since only one hand was available.

"Ok, well, we'll just have to unlock it while it's around our necks…" Temari sighed

The chains were sort of short so they had to get close.

They both started to blush a bit when they could feel each other's breath on each others cheeks.

Their positioning was a bit awkward trying to co-ordinate the key to fit in the lock.

"Is the key in the lock yet?" Temari asked through clenched teeth

"Not yet, just a little closer…"

They moved a little more closer which made them blush even more.

"The keys in, but I can't turn it otherwise it'll choke me"

"Then you'll have to move a little closer…" Temari explained

Then all of a sudden, someone bumped Shikamaru.

Temari back got pushed against the wall behind her.

Shikamaru got pushed against her.

The lock/locket like pendant clicked unlock; but that was the least of their worries because…

They were kissing by accident yet again.

_Oh God, why must you do this to me?_ Both of them thought.

Only this time, they didn't pull away straight away but lingered there a little longer.

I guess anyone that was looking probably thought it looked a bit kinky since Shikamaru was pushed up against Temari against a wall with both of their hands around the chest area holding an un-seen lock and key; but they didn't notice.

They hated to admit that they enjoyed it.

Only a little bit.

After a second that felt like forever, they let go.

They didn't speak. They only stood still looking at each other thinking about what had just happened and how they felt.

They didn't really know how to feel…they just…did.

"Well, the locks open! Let's have a look!" Temari said opening the lock like a locket trying to shake off the tension.

There was a piece of paper folded into a tiny square inside.

They unfolded it and all that was written on it was the number '101'.

"What does this mean?" Temari thought

"I don't know. It's just a number" Shikamaru answered

They continued to walk along the path thinking in the meantime.

"Numbers…numbers…" Shikamaru thought to himself.

"Hey!" Kiba called out to them with Hinata next to him and Akamaru running in front

"Oh, hey Kiba, Hinata. How are you two?" Temari asked

"G-good thank you Temari" Hinata stuttered

"Are you sure there's nothing going on between you to? You're holding hands" Kiba asked.

"Ki-Kiba! Don't intrude." Hinata told him off

"I could same thing to you two. You both look quite chummy together." Temari smiled stiffly

"What do you mean?" Kiba looked away a bit embarrassed, while Hinata's face went bright red, "Fine, I'm guessing you don't want me to say anything.

There was a pause.

"Guess who just won the Best Canine Contest?" Kiba grinned

"Did you win? Congrats!" Temari smiled

"Good job Kiba, I always thought you were a good dog" Shikamaru smirked cheekily

"Shut up Shikamaru" Kiba growled

"Did you get a trophy?" Temari asked

"Yeah, it's really big too; isn't it Hinata?"

"Y-yes"

"Where did you put it then being so big since you're not carrying it?" Shikamaru asked

"Oh, we just shoved it in a locker until the end of the day. It's only one dollar to hire and we weren't bothered carrying it either"

"Locker huh…? Wait, that's it Temari! Lockers!" Shikamaru blurted out suddenly

"Lockers?" Temari thought, "Yes, that's got to be it! Lockers! Thanks Kiba, Hinata, we have to go."

Shikamaru and Temari ran off feeling excited that they were getting close to the finish line.

Kiba and Hinata just stared at the dust cloud they left behind blankly.

"Weird" they thought.

"Here it is, Locker number 101!" Temari pointed it out.

Shikamaru grabbed hold of the door, but it wouldn't open, "It's locked"

"Maybe your key will open it" Temari commented

Shikamaru got his key and sure enough, it opened.

They reached inside and got a card saying 'Congratulations' on it and read it:

_Dear the winning couple_

_Congratulations for finishing and winning the 'Love Test Game'. _

_For winning the game, you win two fully paid, overnight, hot springs tickets at a luxurious resort._

_Please take this to the starting point with your stamp card and other belongings you were given at the start to retrieve your prize._

_Thank you for entering and hope you participate again._

_Mist High_

"Does this mean we're finally finished once we return to the start?" Temari asked

"Yes, finally we will be able to rest at ease"

They headed back to the start.

They received many congrats and gave back the stamp card and map, though they got to keep the necklaces.

"Thank you for participating, here are your tickets. You may let go of your hands now." one of the girls said handing over the tickets

They let go of each other hands.

It felt so empty.

"Well…it's over…" Temari quoted

"Yeah…" Shikamaru thought.

There was an awkward pause not knowing what to say.

"You two should check out the notice board inside the main building next to the entrance. You'll find a surprise there." The girl told them.

They both shrugged and headed towards the noticeboard.

The festival wasn't as busy as it was in the morning since it was starting to get a little late and a few people were heading home. After all, it is a school festival.

It was 2:45pm, nearly time for them all to meet up again.

When they got to the noticeboard, there was a bit of a crowd around it.

Sure enough, there were pictures of all entrants who entered the competition all over it.

Temari could spot a picture of herself with Shikamaru in their costumes at the Cosplay Café.

There was also a picture of them drinking out of a milkshake together with those horrible heart shaped straws.

Another one of them jumping the hurdles and running three legged; and multiple photos of them in the Haunted House, including an embarrassing one of them hugging each other after the frightening maze.

Also, there was one of them in the balloon pit and at the lockers.

They were smiling or laughing in them and looking like they were enjoying themselves in every single one; which was true.

They hated to admit it, but they really did have fun and it was kind of sad that it ended.

"What's with this? Why is our picture pasted all over this thing?" Temari asked gob smacked not knowing what to say.

"Damnit. Those guys are so frikin' sneaky. No wonder why they were always taking various photos…including that Haunted House one…"

There was an awkward silence.

"I'm going to take that one off. They won't know and even if they did, what could they do?" Temari said pushing through a couple of people to get to the picture.

When she finally reached to the picture, something else caught her eye, "Hey Shikamaru, isn't this Naruto?"

Sure enough, there was a picture of Naruto wearing a suit next to a girl with long black hair wearing a long, elegant, olden time, western styled dress.

"Looks like it, but who's the girl?" Shikamaru wondered

"I don't know…she's kinda pretty, but a bit boyish…"

Shikamaru looked at it long and hard and then his eyes widened, "Wait a min- isn't that…Sasuke?"

"What?" Temari yelled out shocked and looked at it closer, "I think it is! If you look closer, it looks like him. Oh and look at this picture, it's of them together and Sasuke's not wearing the wig"

"Then it must be him in this picture. He must be the girl!" Shikamaru nodded

"Pft! Sasuke wearing a dress…who would've thought" Temari commented trying to stifle a laugh.

Shikamaru chuckled not being able to hold back.

Temari couldn't hold back any longer and laughed out loud a glorious laugh.

Shikamaru grinned watching her laugh out loud so beautifully.

"Oops, I guess we've been found out!" A familiar voice commented behind them

They turned around suddenly to see Naruto and Sasuke together behind them.

Naruto was grinning with his arm around Sasuke casually like he's hanging off him and Sasuke was just looking away.

"You don't mean you guys are…" Temari started

Naruto just gave a huge smile.

* * *

I hope that long chapter would make up for my absence!

What do you think of Sasuke in a dress?

Makes me laugh though he would look pretty if he wore a wig XDD

I hope you don't mind SasuNaru, it's my friend Ari-chan's (who the story is dedicated to) favourite pairing.

Don't worry; it won't be too big of a deal.

Much thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. This will pretty much bring the end of the Cultural festival arc and bring on the Hot Springs episode!

I wonder what will happen there? ;D

Please review because I ever so enjoy it so much!

Domo Arigatou

Chanel~


	11. Cultural Festival Finale

Here's Chapter 11!

Yay, this update is on time! ^_^

The number 1 is my favourite number, so 11 feels like double the love~ (don't ask)

Ok, so I know some of you don't like SasuNaru much, but then again some of you do…so either way I lose, but please keep reading even if you don't like it.

Much love to my fellow reviewers and EXTRA love to those who have been reviewing every chapter and have taken me this far!

So my love goes to: MajorStranger, Ume Midori; xlilyunyun; Lupita; ThatGirl96; Shikatema52007; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; bittersweet_temari; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; Anialis; mwto; Temari93; PhoenixTears95; neko and Annah94

I really do love you guys where ever you are!

Alright! It's down to business and no more slacking with jibber-jabber! XDD

* * *

Naruto just smiled brightly at the dumbfounded pair facing him.

Sasuke was looking away uncomfortably.

"S-so you guys are really…?" Temari didn't know how to say it.

Outright saying: 'You guys are gay?' sounded WAY to confronting, but how else would you ask?

Naruto laughed, "Yeah…well…I guess we were hoping to keep this to ourselves a little longer…but oh well. Sorry Sasuke, but I guess the cats out of the bag now!"

Sasuke paused, "Well, I guess if it had to be anyone, it would be Shikamaru, though I suspect you've been suspicious about us since a while ago, right Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru grinned, "I guess the only empty ramen bowl, the hand holding and not to forget the way you just act Sasuke is a bit of a give away"

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" Sasuke stuttered a tad embarrassed.

"So what should we do now Sasuke?" Naruto asked

Sasuke thought for a bit and then grinned, "We aren't _quite_ found out yet. Wanna make a deal Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow, "I'm listening…"

"Ok, if you and Temari keep our little relationship a secret, then we'll keep a secret of your own little relationship" Sasuke ripped off their embarrassing haunted house photo off the board, "Unless you want this picture posted all over the net"

Temari gasped. If that reached Suna, it'll be bad.

Shikamaru sighed, "Fine, you have a deal. So troublesome. Now let's get rid of these pictures…"

They started to tear down the picture of themselves from the board. They received a few complaints from the people from behind looking at them, but once Sasuke looked them in the eye, they either swooned or felt threatened and stopped complaining.

"I don't get it…" Temari started to talk continuing to tear pictures down and stuffing them in her bag, "Why don't you say anything? I don't think anyone will diss you for it or anything…"

"It's a lot more complicated than that" Sasuke started

"You're aware of our rank and how we're seen at school right?" Naruto continued.

"Temari, they aren't afraid of being badly thought of, but you have to have realised by now that they have 'fan girls' and a hell of a lot of them. If they found out, they would be devastated and it'll be the end of the world as you know it. The last thing you want is to be interrogated and surrounded by angry fan girls…" Shikamaru finished.

Temari made an 'oh' shape with her mouth to show that she understood.

Just when they finished stuffing the picture in their bags and ripping a few in the bin, the rest of the gang came.

"Oh Sasuke! Where were you all this time? I've been looking for you everywhere~" Ino crooned.

Temari wanted to block her ears. She almost forgot how annoyingly high-pitched Ino's voice was.

"Hey Temari, everyone!" Tenten called out.

Kiba and Hinata as well as Lee and Sakura came up to them as well and the whole gang was back together again.

"You'll never guess what happened!" Ino cried out, "Chouji and I won free tickets to go to some luxurious Hot Springs!"

"Huh? Me too" everyone else said out loud in sync.

"What?" everyone questioned looking at each other.

"Huh? Don't tell me all of you guys also won tickets?" Ino complained

Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

"How did you get yours Kiba, Hinata?" Ino asked

"Akamaru won the 'Top Canine Award' and one of the prizes was Hot Spring tickets" Kiba answered.

"Neji, Tenten?" Ino continued to ask following the circle.

"We won in a tag team Martial Arts competition" Neji answered with no expression.

"Sakura, Lee?"

"Soccer match"

"Sasuke, Naruto?"

"Treasure Hunt" Sasuke shrugged, "As well as Shikamaru and Temari". Sasuke added looking at Shikamaru, proving that their deal was still in effect.

"How did you guys win?" Temari asked Ino

"Eating competition" Ino answered pointing at Chouji

'_Figures'_ Temari thought.

"Funny how we all won Hot Spring tickets in the end? I kinda wanted it to be just me and Chouji who won to make us look good, but it'll definitely be more fun with all of us together. Are you guys also going during Golden Week?"

"That's what it says on our ticket" Temari answered looking at the date printed on the ticket.

Everyone murmured in agreement checking their tickets as well.

"Oh my god! I can't WAIT!" Ino squealed.

"Same! It going to be so much fun, yet relaxing!" Sakura agreed

"I-I hope so" Hinata stuttered

"You have to be more positive than that Hinata! It's the Hot Springs, of course it will be fun!" Tenten cried out giving Hinata a pat on the back.

Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Well, shall we go off and have some fun together?" Ino asked

"Yeah" everyone answered and they walked off into the centre of the festival.

They all started to play the multiple games around the area.

It was more of a carnival than a School Festival.

Kiba and Hinata were playing Kingyo-sukui (where you catch a goldfish with a paper net).

"Dang it! My net broke again!" Kiba yelled out for the forth time

"It's ok Kiba…" Hinata consoled, "I want to have a try"

"Ok" Kiba handed Hinata a paper net.

Hinata closed her eyes for a second and flashed them open, quickly scooping a fish up into her bowl without breaking her net.

"Whoa Hinata! You're awesome at this!" Kiba cried in happiness hugging her in excitement.

"K-Kiba!" Hinata started to freak out feeling a bit dizzy.

"Oops, she fainted" Kiba quoted still holding fainted Hinata in his arms.

Meanwhile, a crowd started up around the Archery Club.

"Wow, they're so good!" a random girl called out

"Do you think they're experts?" said another

"The guy's really hot" another one swooned.

Sure enough, Tenten and Neji were competing with each other winning stack loads of prizes.

Unfortunately the show had to stop because the Archery manager was about to run out of prizes.

Not too far away you could hear a squeal when Ino successfully pulled the correct string and won a little pig soft toy; while Chouji won a butterfly one for Ino.

Naruto and Sasuke were playing the cork shooting game with much success and had a little pile of their own toys.

Lee and Sakura were fishing water balloon yoyos out of an inflatable pool. Lee got a green one and Sakura caught a pink one.

"Well, it looks like everyone's having fun…" Temari commented watching her friends with Shikamaru.

"Yeah…" Shikamaru replied, "Did you want to do anything?"

"I don't know…to tell you the truth, I haven't really been to a festival like this before"

"Are you serious?" Shikamaru looked at her a bit dumbfounded

"Yeah, I remember going to one when I was _really_ young with my mother. It was really fun"

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked

"My mother died and my father couldn't give a rat's ass about me or my brothers" Temari looked down at her feet.

"Oh…sorry. You have brothers?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm used to it. I have two brothers, Gaara and Kankurou. They're both younger, but Kankurou's in the same year level"

"I never knew…"

There was an awkward silence.

"Well that's enough of the depressing atmosphere! We're here now to have fun, so where should we start?" Temari smiled trying to cheer up the mood.

Shikamaru thought for a bit, "Come here" he ordered grabbing Temari by the wrist dragging her along.

"Where are we going?" Temari asked

"You'll see…"

They reached a ring tossing stall.

"Ring Toss?" Temari questioned.

"Yeah. I've always liked it"

Shikamaru lifted his hand and bought a hand full of rings.

"Here" Shikamaru handed a couple of rings to Temari. "Just throw it at what ever target you wish".

Temari eyed a weasel soft toy. She readied one of her rings and threw it, hitting the target, but it didn't catch or knock off the toy.

"Drat!" she cursed

"Have a look here Temari," Shikamaru beckoned her. He got a ring ready, "You have to throw it a little softer with a bit more glide" he threw the ring and it perfectly rung around a toy deer.

The man at the stall handed the soft toy to him.

"Ok" Temari took a deep breath and threw another ring, missing yet again.

She huffed.

Shikamaru laughed clearly amused. "Let me help you"

He handed her another ring, but this time he held onto her hand.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Temari questioned a little surprised at the sudden move.

"Calm down and let go of the ring when I say so"

Temari closed her mouth shut. She could feel her heart starting to race a bit at the sudden contact.

Shikamaru guided her hand back and then swiftly moved it forward, "Let go" he whispered in her ear and she did what she was told.

The ring successfully caught the weasel.

"Yay!" Temari smiled with glee, happy with the reward.

"See, all it takes is the right technique" Shikamaru grinned

"Thanks" she whispered under her breath

Shikamaru grinned even bigger.

The man handed Temari the weasel toy.

"Here" Shikamaru said handing over his toy deer.

"No, you won it, so you keep it" Temari answered pushing the deer back even though it was very cute.

"I want you to have it" Shikamaru kept his calm tone.

Temari flushed a bit and took the deer hesitantly. "If I'm going to take your deer, then you have to take my weasel"

Shikamaru smiled crookedly, "Deal".

They exchanged toys with a smile.

Everyone continued to play the many activities with joy until the sun started to set.

"Hey Shikamaru, Temari! When you're done, meet us at the mask stall. We're gonna go buy one and then watch the fireworks" Sakura called out to them.

"Ok" Temari called back and they headed towards the masks.

A crowd was starting to build up and Temari was getting lost in it. She was about to grab Shikamaru's hand, but she hesitated.

Since when did she become the type of person who depended on others?

Why did she miss the hand contact she used to have so much?

"Temari!" Shikamaru called out and he quickly grabbed hold of her hand with a firm grip and guided her to the destined stall.

Temari stood close to him not wanting to let go; though she knew she had to once they arrived at the stall.

There were many masks in all different shaped and sizes.

Sakura got a slug shaped one, Lee got a tiger, Neji and Tenten got an ANBU shaped mask, Kiba got a dog, Hinata got a mouse, Sasuke got a snake, Naruto got a fox, Ino got a pig, Chouji got a butterfly, Shikamaru got a deer and Temari got a weasel.

They all bought ramune (Japanese soft drink), cotton candy, konpeito (Japanese star-shaped, colourful rock candy) and all sorts of sweets.

Then they all sat down in a grassy area waiting for the fireworks.

"No matter how good they are, they won't be as good as our fireworks!" Naruto commented

"Yes, we will always beat them with extreme youth!" Lee cried out

"Geez, not so loud you two! I want to stay OUT of trouble" Sakura remarked

"It's ok, what can they do?" Kiba stated

"P-Please don't encourage this Kiba" Hinata mumbled

"I wish it would start already!" Ino complained

"Just be patient Ino, it will start soon. We're just a bit early…" Chouji mentioned trying to calm her down.

Shikamaru was laying down watching the stars.

Temaru lied down next to him a little further away from the group. "When is our school festival on?" Temari asked

"Mmm…sometime soon after Golden Week"

They continued to lie on the grass watching the stars in bliss and content.

Temari continued to look up, "The stars are nice here, but not as good as Suna's. It makes me miss home a bit."

"Were their more?"

"Yeah, MUCH more. Even though our school was a prestigious one, we were in more of a country side than this"

"They sound nice…"

"They're beautiful. You should come and see them some time"

Shikamaru gave it a thought, "That would be nice…though I still prefer clouds"

Temari wasn't sure if he rejected, accepted or just didn't realise her offer, "Why do you like clouds better?"

"I guess it's because they move freely without a care in the world, constantly changing with the wind; while stars are sort of just stick on the sky"

"True, but their twinkling bright light is much prettier"

"I guess…"

Then suddenly someone over the P.A. system spoke, "Ok, let the fireworks show begin!"

There was a cheer and fireworks flew into the sky, covering it with bright lights.

Many different patterns came up and everyone 'ooh' and 'aah-ed' at the sight of them.

It was definitely a night to remember.

* * *

Well that brings the end of the festival arc!

Who would of thought Sasuke would be so evil?

What did you think of it overall? I didn't think it would go for so long! XDD

I'm quite happy with it…though you never know; your opinion counts.

Ok, next is the Hot Springs and some more fun and surprises!

Oh Shikamaru and Temari have no idea on what they're in for! ^^

Please review and such! It does make me ever so happy!

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed every minute of it.

Chanel~


	12. Hot Springs Arc Pt 1 Camera Happy Ino

Sorry for not updating everyone~

I've been uber busy, but don't worry! I'm here now and updating!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Well, it's what all of you have been waiting for…

HOT SPRINGS!

Woop! *Parties in a corner*

*Returns to the laptop*

Ok, so I forgot to mention what Golden Week is.

It's pretty much a public holiday in Japan that goes for a week!

How lovely…

Now that that is all cleared up, it's time to congratulate the following for being so AWESOME! (You know who you are)

Here they are: MsEvilbabe; Amaya-UchihAandMadarA4-life; Temari93; MajorStranger; xlilyunyun; mwto; Lupita; Anialis; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; SoundsRight; Ume Midori; firemageallanna; Melted Glass; bittersweet-temari; Clapping Reflection; Annah94'; iTheWeasel!; Oh My Kira; riia luvs anime (uh sorry but I can't please EVERY pairing otherwise the story will be lame)

Couldn't have made it this far without you all (seriously)

If you're curious, I write your names in the order I receive your reviews. So first to review get their name first on the list.

Just in case you're wondering.

Now, enough from me, lets continue with the story~

* * *

It was last period on Friday (a few days have gone by) and the gang were all sitting in Biology class listening to Kurenai explaining a 'plant cell'.

Biology was one of the few classes that they all had together, so they sat together as a big group in the middle-back row of the class.

The guys received many looks and blushes from multiple swooning fangirls…

While the girls only received glares from the same girls, though some other guys looked their way.

One way or another, they were always the centre of attention in class.

Temari watched Sakura, Hinata, Ino and Tenten giggle to one another happily in class discreetly, pretending to pay attention to Kurenai's lecture.

'_How the hell do they stand this constant pressure of being glared at so easily? I'm normally cold enough and ignore these things easily, but I'm not use to receiving this much since Suna is quite a small school' _Temari thought to herself glancing around the room shaking off multiple pairs of eyes.

"Hey, don't you guys feel like you're being stared at?" Temari murmured to the group.

"Hm?" Shikamaru answered waking up from his nap.

"Oh, I forgot that you're new" Kiba noted coming to a realisation.

"We're use to it" Neji answered.

"Oh, those girls are just jealous that they're not us sitting near the guys" Ino quoted a little bit loud.

Multiple female heads turned around facing the front as if they had taken a sudden interest in the whiteboard.

Kurenai didn't notice luckily enough.

"S-ssh everyone. Lets try not to get in trouble" Hinata told everyone a bit more smoothly than usual.

"So, this is normal?" Temari asked is a quiet tone.

"You've forgotten who we are" Shikamaru drawled still half asleep.

"Look Temari, these guys are the most popular in the entire year level and maybe even the whole school! Everyone either knows them, want to be with them or be them. Also, we are girls sitting with them, so that makes other girls hate us. It's only natural to be given looks" Sakura explained to Temari

"Also because we're extremely HOT!" Naruto yelled out

"Students at the back! Unless you want to stay after school, I suggest you to be quiet!" Kurenai yelled out to them telling them off.

The whole class looked straight forward at the board and stayed quiet.

"Sorry miss" Tenten added in at last minute.

"Good" Kurenai nodded her head and continued her lecture.

"Nice one Dobe" Sasuke commented sarcastically at Naruto

"Shut up" Naruto replied.

'_It's a wonder that they're together' _Temari thought.

She looked over at Shikamaru who looked like he was thinking the same thing.

Soon enough class was over.

"Everyone, enjoy Golden Week and don't forget to do your homework!" Kurenai stated ending her class.

Everyone was dismissed and the gang got up from their seats.

"I don't get how you all get by" Temari quoted.

The group turned to face her.

"What ever do you mean Temari?" Lee asked

"I _mean_, Ino just gossips for forever during class, lazy-ass over here," she pointed at Shikamaru, "just sleeps through the whole class at every class, Sakura sits and talks a lot with Tenten, Hinata and Ino and when Tenten isn't talking, she's doodling in her book. Chouji, you just eat all the time; all Lee ever thinks about is P.E. and sport; Sasuke just stares at the whiteboard blankly; Naruto just bugs Sasuke and makes jokes and Kiba just sits around playing with a pencil. So everyone except Hinata and Neji don't pay any attention in class and does practically nothing but play around." Temari took a deep breathe after saying so much.

"Well, Hinata and Neji are from the prestigious 'Hyuuga' so staying quiet and paying attentions in their blood." Kiba remarked calmly.

"Ok, but how do you all past your tests when you don't even listen to what's going to be on it?"

"Shikamaru, Sasuke, Neji, Sakura and Hinata are always somewhere in the top 20; while the rest of us are average. The only people who are close to failing are Naruto and Ino, but they don't since Sasuke and Sakura tutor them before hand." Tenten explained.

"So we all pass just fine, if not better, therefore we don't need to pay attention" Kiba filled in.

"Why don't the teachers say anything?" Temari asked yet again

"Well they don't bother. Shikamaru is always number one in every exam, so it's too much effort to wake him up since he doesn't even need to _be_ up. Also, its way too much effort for the teachers to make the rest of us pay attention, since we wouldn't after a few minutes anyway and since we are fine with our result, they don't care. The only reason we got told off for before is because Dobe over here was too loud to look over" Sasuke answered speaking the longest that he's done for a while.

"How the hell do you five get the top scored without even doing anything?" Temari questioned taking in all of this information.

"Lets see, Shikamaru's a natural genius with an I.Q. over 200 so that's self explanatory, Neji, Hinata and Sasuke are naturally smart and remember things easily since they were taught at a much younger age, so they either already know what they are being taught about, or they listen partially and take in the information quickly, therefore listening to examples is not necessary. The rest of us listen enough to get an idea and before tests we borrow notes from each other. So it's like a different person is assigned every week to gather information and pass it around. We have a study period together before tests. Well, that's us girls anyway. I assume the guys do the same thing." Tenten explained clearly.

'_Is there even any point for lazy-ass and the Hyuuga cousins to even go to school?'_ Temari thought to herself. "That's kind of amazing in some ways"

Kiba laughed, "We are an odd bunch"

"You got that right" Sakura answered and everyone laughed.

"So, is everyone packed for our HOT SPRINGS RETREAT?" Ino exclaimed excitedly changing subject as they started to head for the lockers.

Everyone nodded their heads in sync.

"Ok, so we will all meet at the destined assigned bus bay at 10 o'clock tomorrow"

"Ugh, so early…how troublesome" Shikamaru quoted his favourite quote looking like he was about to die.

"You can sleep on the bus" Naruto added.

"Well, see you all later!" they all waved at each other and dispersed into the different locker bays.

"Temari~" Ino cooed when they all got their bags ready and were about to split up at the gate.

'_This can't be good'_ Temari thought to herself, "Yes Ino?"

"You realise that we're going to have a girl bash on a couple of nights, so get ready to reveal some secrets since you'll be targeted because we don't know much about you."

"It's a good way to get to know each other!" Sakura remarked excitedly.

"Yes, we want to know about _you_ Temari" Tenten added in.

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this..." Temari thought out loud.

The girls laughed and went off.

"Te-Temari" a quiet voice spoke from behind.

Temari turned around to see Hinata, "Oh, Hinata. What's wrong?"

"I-it's nothing. Just that the girls are just expressing that they want to get to know you better. They mean no harm." Hinata explained

Temari smiled, "I know. Thanks Hinata"

Hinata bowed and went off herself.

Temari walked home (her dad conveniently gave her a place to stay near the school. Wow, he cares) and finished packing her bags for tomorrow; then watched some T.V. while completing her homework to get it out of the way.

She ate dinner by herself (since she's staying by herself) and looked around.

Her place was empty except for the mess she made around the couch. She didn't like coming back from laughing bunch of friends at school to an empty home.

She was used to hearing her brother arguing over something and having to break it up, so silence wasn't something she was comfortable with, though it did have its good points.

She played some music from her iPod through her speakers and then went to bed looking forward to the next day.

They had met at the bus bay and went on their long ride to the hot springs on their hired shuttle.

Temari didn't like having to sit still for a long period of time, but she somehow controlled her urge to fidget. She ended up sitting next to Shikamaru who fell asleep as soon as he hit the chair, so that was boring.

The guys arm wrestled, Ino was bragging about her new clothes and cashmere robe that she got especially for this trip and everyone was talking about different things.

Temari closed her eyes slowly and fell asleep.

"He-hey someone get a camera" a voice ordered.

"Aww, how cute" cried another.

Temari felt a flash through her eyelids and woke up to realise that she had fallen to the side and was resting her head on Shikamaru's shoulder.

Not only was this situation embarrassing, someone had caught it on camera.

And that someone was Ino.

'_Out of all people…'_ Temari thought while trying to recover from feeling groggy.

Her neck hurt from staying on one side for a long time.

Temari lunged at Ino trying to grab her mobile that has the picture on it.

"Nah-ah-ah!" Ino wagged her finger

'_Oh I'm so going to kill her'_ Temari thought to herself trying to grab it.

Everyone else knew better and stayed out of it; while watching a good show.

Ino was laughing and dancing around until someone grabbed her phone from behind.

It was Shikamaru who had woken up from his slumber due to Ino's laughs and Temari's movements.

"Ugh, I was sleeping nicely you know…" Shikamaru looked at the mobile to see what the fuss was all about and saw the picture on display. His eyes widened from surprise, but he quickly returned them to normal and deleted the photo.

"Aaw! Why Shikamaru! It's was such a good picture!" Ino complained

Temari gave a sigh of relief.

"How troublesome" Shikamaru mumbled.

They arrived at the hot springs and the reception placed their luggage on a trolley.

It was a big place and the buildings were old Japanese buildings with an oriental design interior. You can see a cloud of steam behind the buildings which is where the outdoor hot springs probably are.

"Um, we are from Konoha High and there should be a booking for twelve of us and six different rooms". Ino announced proudly.

"Ah, yes; we have been expecting your presence. Now, should we assign rooms?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that…whose staying with who?" Sakura asked the group

There was a pause for thought.

"Uh, I guess I'll stay with-" Tenten started

"Actually, it's already been decided by the people who booked your stay" the receptionist interrupted.

"By the Mist?" Neji asked.

"Yes, now, who is Shikamaru Nara and Temari no Sabaku?"

Temari and Shikamaru turned to face the receptionist, "That's us" Temari announced.

"You two are going to be staying in room 69 together" the man smiled

"WHAT?" they both yelled out in response.

* * *

Haha, two minutes through the door and the trouble has already started!

Your probably curious and a bit dubious about the fact that they are staying in the same room named 69.

I love playing with words

The funs just beginning!

Please read and review because you know I love it! 3

I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Sorry for the mistakes but it's 3:30am and I'm tired and this is the only time available to update this.

Chanel~


	13. Hot Springs Arc Pt 2 Playful Shikamaru?

Everyone, I seriously think I was drunk when I wrote the last chapter

I pulled some really lame jokes

Sorry if you hated them

Thanks if you liked them

I read and enjoy every one of your reviews and re-read them in joy XDD

Thank you all very much for them!

Here are the stars: Annah94; TwilightRocker55; Shikatema52007; MsEvilbabe; Temari93; mwto; xlilyunyun; Lupita; MajorStranger; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; .Idea; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; Ume Midori; ThatGirl96; rubyparker93; Anialis; Melted Glass; bittersweet-temari

You all shine so wonderfully~

Ok, so how are Shikamaru and Temari going to handle this troublesome situation?

* * *

"WHAT?" they both exclaimed at the same time

"There's no way I can stay in a room with this guy!" Temari screamed out in protest pointing at Shikamaru in disgust.

"I'm sorry…I have no control of this…" the receptionist apologised

"Well, I suggest you to get some control of this if you don't want your face rearranged" Temari hissed grabbing the receptionist by the collar giving him a deadly glare.

'_I feel sorry for that guy. He's going to be devoured by Temari's dark side'_ Shikamaru thought to himself

"Whoa, whoa Temari…" Ino pried Temari hands away from the now frightened man and pulled her away, "calm down…let's have a talk…"

Ino dragged Temari with the rest of the group.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal. Technically, you just have to sleep in the same room as him, doesn't mean you have to stay in there the whole day. We probably won't sleep much anyway. At night, all of us girls will group together in a room and have a slumber party and when we're all buggered, we'll go back to our rooms and sleep. It won't be that bad. Shikamaru's too much of a chicken to make any sudden moves anyway so there's nothing to worry about" Ino explained trying to calm Temari down

"Hey, do you mind keeping the insults to yourself…how troublesome…" Shikamaru murmured

Ino ignored him.

Temari didn't like the idea of a bunch of squealing girls at a slumber party much, but its way better spending more time in a room with Shikamaru then necessary.

"Fine…" Temari murmured giving up.

"Good. Then the girl slumber will be in mine and Sakura's room and you guys can do whatever you want" Ino brushed her hands thinking a job well done.

"Hey, why do you and Sakura get to stay in a room together?" Tenten complained

"Well, since our tickets was just an extra given to Chouji and Lee and we didn't really earn it, they couldn't have known who else was going, therefore we get to sleep wherever" Sakura explained

"Ok, then lets get this all settled" Kiba announced and they all marched to the receptionist booking in their rooms.

Temari apologised for her uproar…not seriously of course.

Everyone had their rooms on the same floor very close to each other.

They all split up into their rooms to try and sort things out.

Temari and Shikamaru's room was a bit further down than the rest.

They opened the door and saw that their luggage was already there next to a single king sized bed in a very luxurious oriental styled room. There was a small kitchen, fridge, LCD wide screen TV, stereo system and so many other gadgets.

Wait…_single _king sized bed?

"Oh crap…don't tell me…" Temari stared at it in horror expecting for the worst.

"Yep, only one bed and NO couches…"

"AS IF THEY'RE NO COUCHES!" Temari yelled out

"Ouch…quieten down a bit. Go check yourself" Shikamaru clapped his hands over his ears.

Temari ran around the room triple checking every surface, but no luck.

"Argh! I just got here and trouble has already started" Temari pulled at her hair in stress.

Shikamaru sighed, "Look, if it's too much trouble, I just sleep on the floor ok? Don't panic too much otherwise you'll go bald"

Temari looked at Shikamaru in shock. Ok, so she did over react a bit…alright a lot; but she wasn't used to the idea of going out and having overnight trips with guys. Most guys at her school got greased off and never tried.

She felt bad. Reacting like this was pretty harsh on the guy. She made him sound like a pervert that she can't trust. When she really thought about it, it wouldn't be _that_ bad.

"Don't worry about it. You can sleep on the bed too. I'm sorry for over reacting…" she whispered softly.

Now Shikamaru was shocked at the sudden change of heart and personality.

"What's this? Is the strong, bold, spunky Temari apologising and accepting me a little" Shikamaru grinned

"Shut up! The bed's massive so we'll have plenty of space to sleep. But I swear, if you cross the line, YOUR DEAD!" Temari threatened

"Don't worry; I'll take your word for it…" Shikamaru held his hands up in defence.

"Anyway, it's just sleeping. I won't be back here until the dead of the night anyway when your fast asleep so technically we'll be out of each others way for most of the time" Temari reassured herself.

"I don't know…I think it'll be a lot of fun staying in a room together. I might just wait for you to come back" Shikamaru cooed in Temari's ear causing her to blush.

Temari scoffed fighting off her blush, "I'm telling you, you better not try anything-"

"Don't worry, I won't have to. You might just come to me yourself" Shikamaru remarked cutting her off

"And why would I do that?" Temari cocked her hip to the side, smiling slightly.

"I don't know, why would you do that?" Shikamaru moved up a little closer to her bring his face close to hers grinning back down at her.

Unfortunately this got interrupted by loud knock at the door. "Hey, Temari, Shikamaru! Meet us all at the main lobby in 15 and get ready for the hot springs" Ino called out through the door.

Shikamaru and Temari separated from each other really fast with hearts racing.

"Y-yeah, that's fine Ino. Thanks, we'll see you then" Temari called back

They heard footsteps fading away from the door.

"Well…let's start unpacking" Shikamaru mentioned rubbing the back of his head.

So they did and met everyone at the lobby.

They all explored the resort together admiring the large tennis courts, swimming pools and of course the large hot springs.

Chouji's favourite part was the luxurious buffet.

"It's odd…" Neji thought to himself

"What is it Neji?" Tenten asked

"Well, hot springs are such a traditional Japanese thing, yet this resort very western…"

"Dude, if that's all you're worried about, then ignore it. Who cares?" Kiba laughed out loud.

"K-Kiba, where's Akamaru?" Hinata softly asked the loud Kiba

It was amazing that he could even hear her soft tone over his laughter.

"Ugh, the hotel doesn't allow dogs, therefore Akamaru couldn't come. My sister's looking after him at the moment…" Kiba explained

"Oh, that's too bad Kiba" Lee said trying to sound apologetic

"Come on guys, lets head to the hot springs" Ino yelled out in excitement.

So the girls and boys went their different ways to the open air hot springs.

Naruto got bashed by all of the girls and Sasuke for trying to peep. The rest just ignored him and enjoyed the show.

Then they went to the buffet and ate a grand lunch. The staff was getting worried about the amount Chouji was eating.

Afterwards they headed to the tennis courts and played doubles. Sakura and Lee obviously won since Sakura plays in tennis tournaments and no one can stand up to Lee's energy.

After that they headed to the large pools. There were about five different pools including the massive wave pool. Ino squealed and went photo crazy seeing Sasuke in swimwear and no top.

Temari was quite impressed with Shikamaru's body.

It wasn't bulky, but not lanky either. She didn't know that he was toned and muscular. You could kind of make out a six pack when you looked close enough. He was wearing dark green board shorts that went over his knees.

Temari herself was wearing a halter-neck bikini with a singlet over it and short board shorts. A few guys, as well as Shikamaru, were goggling at her a bit. Even Temari had to admit that she had a pretty good body. She wasn't ultimately skinny like Ino and she wasn't flat like Sakura, she was curvy and still had meat on her bones whilst being skinny. She even tied her hair in a ponytail to make a bit of a change.

Hinata was also getting a few good looks since she was quite curvy herself even though she tried to hide it under a one piece, black, athletic swimsuit; but Kiba snared back and growled scaring them all off.

Amongst all of this, the guys were creating a scene because nearly every girl that walked passed swooned by looking at them and fell over causing some damage.

Temari knew that only trouble could occur.

They all messed around with each other when Ino finally decided to drop her camera, frolicking in the waves.

Some random guy tried to make a move on Tenten, but Neji called it off very smoothly.

On the other hand, whenever a guy tried to make a pass at Hinata, they would find themselves drowning one second later by a pair of hands pulling them under water.

Eventually it stopped.

Ino and Sakura had a few fanboys which they flirted around with a lot, grabbing number and such; but totally got ditched when girls tried to make a move on Sasuke.

Lee and Chouji just played around in the water having fun scaring Sakura and Ino in the process.

Temari just watched the bunch of them having fun not trying to participate at all. She wasn't bothered and tried to hide her body with a towel to remove some staring.

"Hey there pretty lady" she heard someone say behind her.

It was a man's voice.

"Wanna go get a coffee together sometime?" the man asked her

This man was tall, bulky and had brown eyes and hair. In someway he looked a little threatening, but of course that won't stop Temari.

"Sorry, but no thanks…" Temari replied trying to keep it nice.

"Oh come on, you won't even give it a try?"

"Sorry, but I really don't feel like it" _Stop asking you douche bag_ Temari thought

"What about another time then?" the man continued not giving up. When you look closer, he was about the same age as her.

Temari, trying to keep cool, got up, "I have to go. I think my friends calling me…"

"Hey, where do you think you're going" the man said and grabbed her wrist.

"What do you think you're doing? Get away from me..." Temari was about to unleash her wrath until she felt the man's grip loosen a bit.

"You heard the lady, back off!" a familiar voice threatened

Temari turned around and saw that it was Shikamaru. His eyes were cold and dark.

"Back off man, I saw her first" the man growled and Shikamaru

Shikamaru didn't even blink, "I think _you_ should be the one to back off. That happens to be my roommate you're trying to make a move on here"

Temari flinched a bit at the sound of Shikamaru's voice. It wasn't the usual lazy, slurred tone he normally spoke with. It was so cold, and bitter that it sent a shiver down Temari's spine.

"Alright man! You win. I'll go now" the man replied in retreat and ran off to some blonde bimbo.

"I could've handled it myself y'know" Temari snapped at Shikamaru trying to hide the fact that she thought he looked really cool just then.

"I'll take that as a thanks" Shikamaru thought out loud.

After they finished with the pool, they took a quick shower at the pool changing rooms; which was very clean for a changing room and headed off to have dinner.

It was a traditional Sukiyaki meal that night.

They all sat on the floor and ate around a low table enjoying themselves a lot talking about random things about school. 'She did this, he did that, did you know, you'll never guess' was repeated over and over a lot that night.

Temari zoned out for a bit kind of missing home. She hadn't seen her little brothers for a while now and hoping that they're ok by themselves. Not that there's any reason for them to not be after all they have maids to answer their every call. She couldn't ever imagine the situation she's in. She was at a luxurious resort, not that that's new being rich and all, surrounded by many friends who are laughing and joking around having the time of their lives. She even joined in on the laughter and when she did, no one backed away scared. She had to admit, as much as she missed home, she was having fun.

"…ri…mari…Temari!" A voice called her out of her daydreaming

Temari turned around in shock to see Shikamaru.

'_Oh yeah…I ended up sitting next to him…'_

"Are you ok?" Shikamaru asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just daydreaming" Temari gave a reassuring smile

Shikamaru looked back at her a bit worried, but broke it off when Chouji started to talk to him.

They were all walking back to their rooms getting ready for bed, or in this case for a slumber party, and Shikamaru and Temari were walking by themselves since everyone else's rooms have already passed.

"Hey, why were you so out of it during dinner?" Shikamaru asked

"It was nothing. I was thinking that the weather was looking a bit dull and wondering how things are goingat home" Temari answered. There was no point in hiding it.

"Must be hard being away from home…though I wouldn't mind getting away from my mum…" Shikamaru replied

Temari just laughed, "Well, it's not like I really need to worry. My brothers can be taken care of by the maids and they're old enough to know when to eat and such, so I'm probably just a little home sick"

"Well it has been a while. It's only natural"

They reached the door to their room and Temari pulled out her P.J's.

"I'm going to get changed in the bathroom ok?" Temari called out to Shikamaru

"Ok"

Temari slipped into her pyjamas. It was just a purple tank top and a white pair of shorts with a massive jumper to go over it. She assumed that she was just going to share a room with Tenten or Hinata, so she never thought about how she looked in her pyjamas; but now that she had a proper look, it made her look a little slutty. Her shorts were pretty short so her massive jumper was pretty much the same length. She shrugged a let her hair out. She could see the kinks that her hair ties made.

She opened the bathroom door just to see Shikamaru in his boxers.

She slammed the door closed instantly. "At least give me some warning next time!" Temari yelled out trying to calm down. She didn't know why she was reacting so much, after all she's seen him in bathers; which is the same thing, but it was different.

"Sorry, it's ok now" Shikamaru told her

Temari opened the door slowly and cautiously to see Shikamaru packing his clothes away into the closet.

She walked out and when she did, she could feel Shikamaru's eyes looking all over her making her feel self-conscious.

"What?" she demanded trying to sound as if she wasn't affected. She started to check out Shikamaru a bit. He was wearing a plain, loose, grey t-shirt and baggy, black tracksuit pants.

Shikamaru's face flushed a bit, "It's nothing"

"What? You're interested in what you're seeing?" Temari smirked putting on a flirtatious tone

Blood rushed to Shikamaru's face. He coughed and looked away for a bit, "I'm pretty sure you were just checking me out before.

Temari stalled for a bit and started to blush the same.

Shikamaru grinned at the reaction.

"Well I was wondering if there could be at least one good point about you, but I was sadly disappointed…" Temari sighed trying to sound disappointed shaking her head side to side.

"Oh really? Something about your reaction said differ" Shikamaru grinned even wider and sauntered towards Temari leaning one hand on the table next to her moving himself close to her. His arm stretched across her body leaning on the table restricting any movement forward.

Temari walked backwards a bit, but Shikamaru's eyes caught hers and stopped her from moving.

"Still not happy" Temari continued feeling a bit breathless

Shikamaru's mouth moved towards Temari's ear, "You're lying' his voice sounded cold and dark like before.

His breathe tickled her ears and a shiver ran down her spine. The position they were in was really intoxicating.

"No I'm not" was all she was managed to say in return.

He nipped her ear with his teeth.

Temari shuddered feeling her face going bright red.

Shikamaru moved his head and made it face hers at a really close distance, "What about now?"

Temari had just about enough. She started this and there was no way she was letting him take all of the fun. She closed the gap between them so their chests were touching and only their faces were apart at a very small distance, "Hmm…I dunno…what about you?"

Shikamaru was a little shocked at the sudden change and enjoyed it none-of-the-less. His grin grew even wider, "I'm quite enjoying myself at the moment"

Temari smirked and felt the distance finally about to close, but yet again they were interrupted.

"Hey Temari! What's taking you so long?" Tenten complained on the other side of the door knocking.

Temari and Shikamaru were so surprised that they jumped back.

"Coming!" Temari called back and ran to the door not looking at Shikamaru at all.

Temari ran out of the door and shut it fast, "Let's go Tenten".

"Uh, ok"

They started to walk back to the rooms, "Hey Temari"

"Yeah"

"Why is your face all red?"

* * *

I'm creating a habit of writing stories 'til 3

Such a bad habit

This chapter was a bit extra longer to make up for the short one last week!

Well now the slumber party full of gossip will unleash next chapte

Look forward to it

Oh and please Review~ 3

Chanel~


	14. Pt 3 Gossip Parties, Spying and Thunder

Wow I've been busy lately

I'm surprised that I even have time to write this XDD

Last chapter was a test of your reactions to my new 'style' and 'genre' of writing and also the different perspective of Shikamaru

I know he's lazy, but even lazy people can flirt in the mood right?

Who doesn't?

I'm glad that it turned out ok and was readable.

Thanks to those who helped me out on testing my style and perspective of Shikamaru by reviewing their feedback!

Here are those lucky stars~

MsEvilbabe; MajorStranger; ThatGirll96; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; xlilyunyun; rubyparker93; Lupita; TsunaNarik; Ume Midori; Temari93; Annah94; mwto; . .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi. (sorry I couldn't make it to Tuesday, but I hope I can make it on you Fav list); Anialis; XeniaKunoichi; bittersweet-temari; MariBitchRocker; Melted Glass; Tenji=Awesomeness!; Nara Midori

Much love to you all!

Here have a cookie *hands you a cookie*

Now it's time for the 'Gossip Party' because they won't be sleeping there for many reasons ;D

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

* * *

Temari walked into the room where Sakura and Ino were staying and already could she smell the popcorn and mixed scent of Ino's and Sakura's perfume clashing in the air.

Her worse fears of a slumber/gossip party were coming true.

Temari had never really been to a sleepover before. It's not that she never had any friends; she just didn't like to be around them much.

That overbearing feeling of pressure to conform and making sure you say the right thing at the right time and such was not something Temari was a fan of.

But for some reason, she couldn't escape from this group.

"Hey, take your time why don't you!" Ino joked beckoning her to sit on the floor with the rest of them.

"We were about to eat the popcorn with out you" Sakura mention grabbing a handful of it and shoving it into her mouth.

Temari sat between Tenten and Hinata on the floor while listening to 'You Belong With Me' by Taylor Swift being played by pink iPod speakers with a matching pink iPod.

"Is everything ok with you Temari?" Tenten asked

Temari grabbed a handful of popcorn, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you were worried about sharing a room…" Hinata explained

'_Wow she didn't stutter for once' _Temari thought placing a couple pieces of popcorn into her mouth, "Oh, its ok now"

"Of course it is! It's Shikamaru. You were totally over reacting! I've known him since I was little and we used to have sleepovers with Chouji all the time and he's NEVER made a move or anything. The only thing he does is sleep really…" Ino clarified

The embarrassing moment that Tenten and Sakura interrupted flashed past Temari's mind, "Y-Yeah…" she replied, _'Bullshit'_

"By the way…" Sakura started to change subject, "How was it like at your old school?"

That was a subject that Temari wasn't fond of. It's not like anything bad happened, it was just because there wasn't really anything to talk about.

"Nothing much. My dad was the principal so no one ever crossed paths with me. I had many friends, but nothing close and guys stayed away from me unless they wanted a broken nose" Temari babbled out at once.

There was silence.

'_Oh god, did I just said all of that out loud? They probably think I'm a psycho, spoilt bitch now' _Temari thought to herself covering her mouth as if she was trying to stop the words from spilling out of her mouth, even though it was too late.

"Wow, you were pretty cool Temari!" Tenten gasped

"You sounded so popular" Sakura commented

"I wish I could hold back from guys like you" Ino complained

Hinata smiled.

Temari's eyes widened surprised by their reaction. She laughed out loud feeling happy.

The rest of the girls looked at each other weirdly and joined in laughing until they were rolling on the floor in tears.

When they finally calmed down, they sat back up and collapsed onto the large king-sized bed.

"Alright, so now that we've sort've calmed down…" Tenten grinned

Hinata giggled.

"Shall we start playing truth or dare?" Tenten continued

'_Oh god how cliché' _Temari thought, but didn't argue.

"Sure, just wait a moment while I get the mocktails" Ino got up from the bed and headed to the mini kitchen.

Ino came back with a tray with 5 different coloured mocktails in fancy glasses.

"A pink one for Sakura, a light blue one for Hinata, a red one for Tenten, a purple one for Temari and a yellow one for me" she explained handing the assorted drinks out.

Temari could taste the grape flavouring in hers.

"Alright, I'm going first!" Sakura called out and took a sip of her drink, "Ino, truth or dare? Wow I really like this strawberry flavour!"

"Umm…" Ino thought out loud.

'_She's going to ask for truth…' _Temari predicted

"Let's see…truth" Ino answered

"Ok…" Sakura paused for a moment for thought, "How many guys have you made out with in your whole life?"

Ino went bright red, "What type of question is THAT?"

"A 'truth question' so fess up!" Sakura crossed her arms

Hinata blushed

Temari sat back trying to look bored, but she really was interested.

"Ugh, fine…" Ino gave up, "I've made out with two; once each"

There was a long pause.

"You're kidding me…" Temari gasped

"What? Do you think I'm a skank who just makes out with whoever asks?" Ino snapped.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that Ino…" Tenten quoted trying to calm her down.

"Then what did she mean?" Ino screamed

"I meant that I knew you had quite a few boyfriends in your life so I thought you might have at least made out more then once with a couple of them…" Temari explained making it up as she went along. She had no idea how many boyfriends Ino's had.

"Well, a majority were just flings ok?" Ino pouted.

_**Meanwhile…**_

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji were spying on the girls through a behind some bushes near their window listening in on their conversation.

"I thought so. I mean, she's been out with multiple guys so I suspected she's made out heaps" Kiba frowned answering Ino's question to himself in a low voice.

"Even though she puts up such an appearance, doesn't mean she's really like that. She's actually really sweet with good morals!" Chouji huffed feeling slightly offended some reason.

"Ok, ok, calm down lover-boy" Kiba put his hands up in front of him in defence.

"Guys, be quiet! I can't hear the girls!" Naruto complained

"Weird hearing that from you…" Kiba murmured

"Well, what about you Temari?" Ino snapped yet again, "How many guys have you made out with?"

"Hey, no need to get so angry…" Temari cocked an eyebrow

"C-calm down Ino…" Hinata stuttered a little frightened.

"I chose truth for you Temari so answer!" Ino yelled not listening to Hinata

"Oh, this is where you guys are…" Shikamaru remarked at the boys spying.

"Ssh! It's Temari's turn!" Kiba hushed Shikamaru

"They just asked her how many people she's made out with" Naruto told Shikamaru knowing that he'll be interested.

"And…?" Shikamaru commented acting like he didn't care and looked away even though he was listening intently on the girl conversing inside.

"Dude, we all know you care so shut up" Kiba snapped a little

Chouji smiled

Shikamaru continued to stay standing stubbornly though he kept his mouth shut.

"Fine…I haven't made out with anyone…" Temari confessed colour returning to her cheeks

There was a short pause.

Shikamaru sighed with relief secretly to himself.

"Serious?" Ino stared at Temari doubtfully and surprised

"Yeah, well I told you that I scared off any guys who tried to come close…"

"Were all the guys at your school that bad?" Sakura asked

"It's not that they were all bad…some were even pretty damn hot…"

"Well then…why?" Tenten questioned

"It's because I'm…sort of…rich…" Temari murmured

"Really?" Ino exclaimed in excitement

"Whoa, who would have thought that Sabaku was loaded?" Kiba commented

Shikamaru glared at him hard

"What? Don't stare at me so scarily" Kiba whimpered

Chouji just looked at Shikamaru sceptically.

"Yeah. It's hard to tell if a guy really liked _my money _or_ me_. Also dating the daughter of the principal kind of gives you leverage…" Temari continued

"I-I never thought of it like that…" Hinata thought to herself

Ino stared at Temari sympathetically with puppy eyes.

"What? Don't look at me like that. It's not like I care…" Temari remarked

"Still…we never knew!" Sakura commented

"So you haven't done _anything_ with a guy before?" Tenten asked curiously.

"Well, it's not like I haven't done _anything_…" Temari confessed

Shikamaru's ears perked up and he followed the rest and hid behind a bush.

"Well? Who was your first kiss with then?" Ino asked getting excited again

"Nuh-uh! I've answered my truth question! It's someone elses turn and my pick, so, Hinata, you act all innocent but you know you've got to make a choice in life!" Temari called out quickly trying to change subject.

"Naruto or Kiba? Who would you choose if any?" Tenten confronted her

Kiba's ears perked up this time.

Naruto looked worried.

"I-I-I-I d-don't know…" Hinata stumbled turning bright red

"Come on Hinata! We said you have to, so you HAVE to!" Sakura beckoned.

"W-well…I've liked Naruto for a _long_ time and he's n-nice and e-encouraging…but K-Kiba has always been with me and h-has been very k-kind towards me…" Hinata managed to stutter out

"So you'll choose Kiba?" Temari questioned

Hinata's face went even brighter if that was possible and slightly nodded.

"Well that problem's solved Naruto…" a familiar voice came up from behind the nosy boys

It was Sasuke with Neji behind him.

Naruto smiled.

"Why are you guys hiding behind a bush anyway? You'll probably get caught soon." Neji commented

"Ssh! We will if you keep standing around like a douche" Kiba remarked

Neji and Sasuke bobbed down behind the bush with the rest of the guys not wanting to be bashed by crazy mad girls.

Hinata soon recovered from her daze and realised it was her turn to ask a question. "T-Tenten…do you like…N-Neji?"

Tenten's face turned bright red.

Ino laughed, "I'll take that as a yes"

"That was pretty forward of you Hinata! You hit the nail right on the head!" Sakura exclaimed laughing

"Shut up Sakura!" Tenten yelled feeling defensive.

"Woohoo Neji! Who would have known you were such the ladies man!" Naruto grinned

"Idiot, he's smart, rich, the possible heir to a large and successful company and the student council president! Many girls dig that." Kiba grinned along giving Naruto a playful punch.

"Oow…" Naruto complained

"Anyway, back to Temari…" Tenten cleared her throat and continued, "So how many have you _kissed_?"

Shikamaru sat up a little straighter due to his sudden interest keeping his ears wide open.

"Why are you all fixated on me?" Temari complained

"Because you're the newbie. We need more dirt on you" Ino teased

"Fine. I've only kissed once when I was really young" Temari blushed slightly, feeling a little uncomfortably.

"Who was it?" Sakura asked wanting to know more information

"You wouldn't know him anyway so why does it matter?" Temari sighed suddenly feeling tired

"So? The question requires more details" Tenten clarified

"Fine. His name was Hikaru, we've known each other since we were really little because our mums were best friends. He had to move and change schools when I was about 7 or something, so before he left he gave me a peck and that's all there is to it"

"Aww…that's so cute~" Ino cooed

"He liked you! What about you? How did you feel?" Sakura asked feeling intrigued and excited.

"Well, back then I did have a crush on him, but really; I don't hold them for that long. It's been years since the last time I've seen him. We pretty much only get one Christmas card a year from him and that's it. So it wasn't really anything to hold onto…" Temari clarified the last part to get the point across.

"That's too bad…" Hinata thought out loud.

Shikamaru calmed down. He didn't even realise how tense he was.

"You ok man?" Kiba asked staring at Shikamaru

Shikamaru put on his usual borish face and stared back at Kiba, "What do you mean?"

"Well…you just looked…kinda…I mean…ugh, never mind" Kiba gave up; not liking the feel of Shikamaru's bored glare.

"Oh! Is it because you li-" Naruto started to say really loudly

Shikamaru's glare cut him off.

"Dobe, remember we made a d-" Sasuke started to tell off Naruto but slipped and accidentally rustled the bushes too loudly.

"What was that?" Temari jumped to attention

"I dunno…it came from that bush over there" Tenten answered pointing over to the bush Sasuke rustled.

"Nice one Sasuke. Who would've known you would be such a klutz" Kiba commented.

"Shut up" Sasuke managed to say

"S-someone go check it out" Hinata stuttered a little frightened

"Uh, Sakura you go…" Ino beckoned pushing Sakura in the same direction as the bush

"Ok, well I'm off before I get caught even though I did nothing…" Neji walked off calmly, "Remember the deal, no ratting anyone out even if your tortured getting caught".

"Same goes…" Shikamaru yawned, "Time to sleep anyway. It's too troublesome to explain myself…" and crawled away silently

"No, you look Ino!" Sakura cried.

"I have to agree with Shikamaru, except, I'm hungry…" Chouji also crawled off silently somehow

"Well I'm off Dobe" Sasuke dusted the leaves off his top, "Remember to keep your mouth shut or we're in trouble with Shikamaru…" he left as graceful as usual…even though he was covered with leaves and branches.

"God guys, it's probably just a bird. I'll go look" Temari got up and walked towards the bush.

"Yeah, well see ya Naruto" Kiba grinned and ran off.

Naruto looked around to see everyone gone, "Wait guys! Don't leave me behind!" he complained and ran off after them.

"What is it Temari?" Sakura whined.

Temari looked over the bush and saw nothing, "Nothing…there's nothing here"

"What? But I'm sure I heard something!" Ino stalked over to where Temari was.

"Maybe it got scared and scampered off already…" Tenten suggested

"I guess so since there's nothing there" Sakura agreed

"Though it really scared me!" Hinata cried

"Phew that was close!" Kiba cried

"Why are you guys going back to Chouji's room?" Shikamaru asked walking back to his own room

"Well, we're not going to hit the hay yet, are we?" Kiba wondered

"Hey~ Why did you guys leave me behind?" Naruto complained running after them

"You're too slow sometimes Dobe" Sasuke smirked

"I'm not going to stick around so I'm going back to my room" Neji commented about to head off.

"You wanna get ready for Tenten early ey?" Kiba remarked grinning evilly

"What?" Neji spat out turning slightly pink

"You know, since you found out that Tenten likes you" Kiba nudged Neji with his elbow

Neji brushed him off, "Don't be stupid. We're not meant to know this and technically she never answered yes so the answer's unclear"

"Oh yeah! She went really bright red when Hinata asked her" Naruto pulled a thinking pose by putting his index finger and thumb on his chin.

Kiba laughed, "If Naruto noticed, then it must've been pretty obvious!"

'_This is stupid' _Shikamaru thought to himself. "Well I'm off to bed. It's too troublesome to be tired tomorrow. Bye" Shikamaru hunched over and stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued to walk back to his room.

"Let's go inside already. I'm hungry" Chouji complained and opened the door with the key, just to meet a pair of sad puppy-eyes owned by Lee.

"Where did you guys go? Did you forget me and went to go play soccer by yourselves~" Lee sobbed

"Oops…" Naruto slipped out.

Rain started to pour down.

"Well, I think it's time to go to bed" Temari yawned and stretched

"I think I have to agree sadly. Hinata's already starting to fall asleep" Tenten agreed

"Wa- huh?" Hinata mumbled a little groggy waking up from her near-sleep

"Aww…but it's still early~" Ino complained

"Ino, it's 2 o'clock in the morning" Sakura commented checking her mobile for the time

"Exactly" Ino pouted

"Nah, we have a big day tomorrow. We better sleep" Temari added in wanting to leave before they asked for anymore embarrassing details.

"Ok, well night guys…" Sakura yawned and opened up the door.

"Right then. Night!" Tenten gave everyone a hug and left

"Goodbye and goodnight" Hinata got up groggily, bowed and left.

"See ya guys" Temari waved and left too.

"Bye!" Sakura and Ino answered in sync then closed the door quietly behind them.

The rain started to poor down even harder.

"I hope it doesn't storm…" Temari thought to herself heading to her room.

She opened the door quietly and the light from the hall lighted up the bed inside with Shikamaru laying in it.

'_Oh crap, I forgot he was in here'_ Temari thought to herself.

She quietly tiptoed to the bathroom and took her four hair ties out of her hair letting it fall down to her shoulders. She brushed it carefully and brushed her teeth.

When she was done, she crept towards the bed to 'her side' and slipped under the covers rocking the mattress slightly and snuggled deep under the covers.

She closed her eyes trying to get to sleep feeling a little uncomfortable under the stiff covers.

And of course with the man beside her.

Shikamaru had trouble sleeping himself for the first time in his life. The thought of other guys liking Temari unnerved him for whatever reason.

Temari tossed and turned still having trouble sleeping.

Shikamaru was facing away from her.

He felt the need to talk a bit hoping to bore himself to sleep, so he decided to start conversation the classic 'Shikamaru way'.

"Troublesome woman, stop tossing and turning so much" he mumbles trying to sound sleepy even though he was wide-awake.

"Shut up. It's hard to sleep under these hard and stiff blankets with this neat and tidy atmosphere that I'm not used to" Temari hissed

"Just try to get some sleep," he grumbled unpleasantly though he was clearly amused.

"You think I wouldn't have already if I could!" Temari snapped

"Try harder" Shikamaru remarked grinning under the covers

"Why you ba-" a crack of thunder cut her off

"What were you saying?" Shikamaru questioned her sudden pause

"I was say-eek!" Temari squealed out of character as more thunder boomed

The thunder continued to crash outside.

"Don't tell me that you're-" this time Shikamaru got interrupted when Temari suddenly moved towards him and clung onto his t-shirt.

"O-Oi! What are-" Shikamaru then stopped talking when he felt her shiver under the covers onto his skin.

"Sh-Shut…thu-thunder gives me b-bad me-memories…eek!" Temari squealed yet again as another boom of thunder rang through the room.

Shikamaru felt a bit shocked, but then smiled and hugged her closer trying to comfort her, "It's ok now…" he re-assured her, "This is different from that time…"

Tears started to sprout form Temari's eyes as she squeezed them tightly shut.

He repeatedly whispered those words constantly in a calm tone in her ear comforting her to sleep.

Temari soon fell asleep with the sound off Shikamaru's voice resounding in her ear.

The thunder soon stopped and Shikamaru fell asleep with the warmth of Temari's body next to his.

* * *

Aww doesn't that make you feel all fuzzy and warm?

I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Sorry about that.

Anyway, please review so I know how you felt about it!

Thanks for reading even if you don't review!

Chanel~


	15. Pt 4 The Truth and Bitter Feelings

Life's been busy so I deeply apologise for the long overdue update!

I hope you enjoy it!

Anyway…this is CHAPTER 15!

Makes you want to go 'WHOA' doesn't it?

Well…it does for me…

I still have so many ideas in my mind for this story so I hope it won't go for TOO long and feels like it's dragging.

Unless you want me to?

Haha so I hope you all stick with me 'til the end

Of course feedback is welcomed.

Here are my stars and the greatest people in this WHOLE world:

Shikatema52007; gloryX; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; MsEvilbabe; Temari 93; Annah94; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; xlilyunyun; Anialis; rubyparker93; MariPeaceRocker; Ume Midori; Lupita; bittersweet-temari; MajorStranger; Melted Glass; bleacher; x-chocolate-chara-x; The Only Love For Soujiro Seta

*gives you a cookie that has '15' written on it in icing*

Thanks for everything!

* * *

Temari cracked her eyes open slowly.

She could see a bit of sunlight seeping through a crack in the curtain and it was hurting her eyes.

She peered at the clock beside her.

Great, analogue, I actually have to look and think about what the time was.

It was 9:15am

Temari groaned hating that she was always an early bird even if she didn't sleep until late the night before.

'_Oh well, I can still sleep a bit more. The other girls are probably still sleepy from last night as well'_ she decided and snuggled closer to the large warm pillow beside her that she was hugging.

It was much warmer and harder than a usual pillow.

It also smelled good.

Temari took a deep breath through her nose taking in the nice scent.

'_So…familiar…sort of smells like…' _"SHIKAMARU?" she yelled out in surprise realising that the pillow was in fact not a pillow, but a young man named Shikamaru.

She was so surprised that she fell off the bed tumbling onto the floor

"Mmm…troublesome…" Shikamaru mumbled while frowning with his eyes still closed.

"Wh-what…I-I…y-you…I-I…" Temari stuttered uncontrollably still confused about her current situation.

Shikamaru cracked open his eyes slowly looking fairly grumpy, "What's wrong? You're not making any sense troublesome woman…" he frowned annoyed

"I don't get why…I mean…why was I…?" Temari couldn't stop shaking and stuttering still sitting on the floor

Somehow, Shikamaru kind of understood what she was talking about, "Don't you remember last night?" his eyes were now fully open, though still looking grumpy.

"Last…night…?" Temari asked unsure if she wanted to know the answer. _'Please tell me I did not do anything I'm going to regret last night. Oh god…what if Ino poured some alcohol into our mocktails with out telling us? She seems to be the type who would do that. Maybe that's why I can't remember anything! Who knows how I act when I'm drunk…' _Temari started to panic in her mind.

Shikamaru contemplated the look on her face watching it constantly change while she was deep in thought.

He chuckled clearly amused

Temari scowled, "What's so funny?"

Shikamaru grinned, "It's just your face expressions. They're so cute…" he continued to laugh.

'_Cute? Oh god I did do something…oh god oh god oh god oh god…' _Temari started her panic attack again.

This just made Shikamaru laugh harder. Could you believe Shikamaru laughing early in the morning awake?

"Don't worry, what happened probably has nothing to do with what you're thinking by the look of your face expression" he teased

Temari blushed, "Y-yeah? And what do you think I'm thinking about?"

This time Shikamaru blushed and went silent.

'_Uh-huh. Take that…'_ Temari thought to herself proudly.

"Well... anyway…" Shikamaru cleared his throat, "Does thunder and lightening recall any memories of what happened last night?"

Temari thought for a bit and suddenly all of her memories came back to her. As she kept thinking her face got redder and redder.

Shikamaru took that as a yes, "Cute"

"Shut up!" Temari snapped with her face still flushed.

She got up off the floor and ran into the bathroom and locked it shut.

'_I can't believe I just showed my weak side to him! I frikin' hate thunder!' _she cursed in her mind. As much as she hated this…_ 'Why don't I hate the fact that I did that? And his smell…what's wrong with me?'_

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was thinking, _'cute'_

"Hey!" Ino called out to Temari and Shikamaru as they reached the elevator walking far apart from each other.

"Hey" Temari replied back.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as his hello.

"Everyone else is already down stairs starting breakfast so let's join them" Ino suggested and then the elevator pinged with the 'down arrow' lighted up above the door.

The door opened and the three of them walked in.

Ino chatted casually and excitedly about the plans for the day and Temari nodded in response kindly, avoiding Shikamaru's gaze.

The elevator door opened and they headed to restaurant to join the rest.

"Where's Neji and Tenten?" Ino asked the rest taking a seat next to Sakura.

Shikamaru sat next to Chouji.

There was a spare seat next to Shikamaru, but Temari sat on the opposite side of the table next to Hinata.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in response, but didn't say anything.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them yet" Lee replied

Soon after, Tenten and Neji showed up at the table together.

"What took you two so long?" Sakura asked

"You two weren't getting the dirty on were you" Kiba grinned sleazily raising an eyebrow.

Neji kicked him in response.

"Oww…" Kiba whimpered

"Actually…" Tenten started to blush a bit, "We're going out now…"

Everyone's mouths at the table gaped.

"Oooooooooooohhh myyyyyyyy goooooddddddddddd howwwwww cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Ino squealed

Temari blocked her ears trying to shield herself from Ino's high-pitched voice, but it failed.

"No way! That's great!" Sakura yelled out

Hinata smiled.

"Way to go Neji!" Naruto slapped his back in joy.

"Who asked who?" Ino asked getting excited

"Umm…Neji…" Tenten looked at her feet as her face turned a deeper shade of red

"What suddenly made you ask Neji?" Chouji asked

"Oh, I know! It was because last night the girls were sayin-" Naruto got cut off by Sasuke's hand

But it was too late.

All of the girl's faces changed colour.

Hinata went red in embarrassment remembering what she was saying.

Ino's went purple with her mixed feelings

Sakura's went green in anger

Tenten went ashen not sure of what to think

Temari went pale knowing that the guys knew things about her that's she didn't want them to know.

Like Shikamaru knowing about Hikaru… _'Wait, why do I care about that?'_

"YOU WHAT?" Sakura screamed.

All of the customers in the restaurant stared at them.

"Well…it's every man for himself" Kiba quoted and scampered off

Neji and Sasuke had already miraculously disappeared.

Temari abruptly stood up and headed to the self-serve buffet.

Shikamaru followed her.

While they were walking Sakura was chasing after Naruto with a dinner knife, Hinata stayed seated on the chair stunned, Tenten went to look for Neji and Ino started lecturing Chouji and Lee.

Temari started to plate up some lettuce onto her plate.

"What's up with you?" Shikamaru asked coming from behind

Temari dropped her tongs in surprise, but luckily caught it and continued to plate up her lettuce trying to act normal, "What do you mean?"

"I mean you've been avoiding me since this morning" Shikamaru held a stern face

Temari refused to face him, "We practically just woke up and it's still morning, you're just being paranoid…"

"Then why can't you look at me in the eye?" Shikamaru confronted her

Temari paused for a moment.

"If I'm really being paranoid then look at me" he continued to beckon

Temari felt like her legs were made out her lead and wouldn't move off the floor. There was a choked up feeling in her throat as if a stoned was jammed in there never moving.

"Temari…" Shikamaru quoted sternly

"Just shut up and leave me alone!" she stomped away slamming her plate on the buffet table while dropping the tongs onto the floor.

Shikamaru just watched her walk out of the restaurant staring at her back.

"What's with them?" Naruto asked

"Who knows? Lover-spat?" Chouji replied looking at Shikamaru with concern

"Oh the power of youth!" Lee fantasised.

"Don't think you guys are off the hook yet!" Sakura yelled after them.

"Run!"

"Ok, well see you guys in an hour!" Ino called out to the guys before walking into the girl's side of the hot springs with Tenten, Hinata, Sakura and Temari.

"Yeah see ya then" they answered back with a throbbing bump on each of their heads; except for Sasuke and Neji.

Temari looked at Shikamaru. _'I wonder what he looks like under that robe of his. Is he honing some muscles? Toned? Tanned? Pale?' _she wondered to herself.

Shikamaru noticed Temari staring at him and look back at her with their eyes meeting.

Temari looked away instantly, _'What's wrong with me?'_

Temari took a deep breath and stepped into the boiling spring. The heat made her skin tingle and she felt her muscles relax. She drew her breath, closed her eyes and let herself sink into the water.

"Hey Tenten, what was it like being asked out by Neji?" Sakura asked

"Yeah! I want _details_" Ino beckoned

"I don't know how you explain it…" Tenten blushed a bit

"Just tell us what happened" Hinata suggested, "If you want to that is…"

"Umm…well…" Tenten thought out loud

"Yeah, continue!" Ino started to shake holding in her excitement

"Uh, after the 'sleep over', I walked back into my room and Neji was still awake unpacking things out of his suitcase. I asked him about the sleeping arrangements and he said that he would be happy to sleep on the couch. I guess I was really sleepy and fell over and before I knew it I was in his arms"

"How romantic you sly Tenten!" Ino squealed

"Ssh!" Sakura hushed Ino

"Yeah, then it kind of just happened. He asked me out and I said yes" Tenten finished.

The girls continued to chatter on while Temari just stayed the way she was, sunk at the bottom of the hot springs.

'_Tenten's so lucky having it so easy. It was practically all ready and served on a silver dish waiting for her to take it. While I…wait why am I thinking of such lovey-dovey thoughts? Shikamaru's right, I have been out of it since this morning. I can't think straight, I can't look straight at Shikamaru in the eye nor can I stand being close to him. Shikamaru, Shikamaru, Shikamaru, that's all I think about at the moment. No way…could I possibly be…'_ Temari thought to herself before getting interrupted by Sakura.

"Hey Temari, you ok?" she asked concerned

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine, just really enjoying the hot springs. I don't go all that often, why?" Temari blurted out in response after snapping out of her thoughts.

"It's just that I saw you stomp out of the restaurant after talking to Shikamaru…" Sakura responded

"Did he say something to upset you? If he did I'll give him a piece of my mind" Ino started to pound her fist into her hand.

"Uh, no…I just really needed to go and…check if I left the water running because I totally thought I forgot" Temari laughed nervously trying to cover up her tantrum

"Oh…ok…" Hinata murmured

"Well anyway, that problem's solved, but if Shikamaru does anything to upset you, just tell me!" Ino smiled pointing her thumb at herself.

Temari nodded.

"Hey, hey Tenten…so in the end, did you still make Neji sleep on the couch?" Sakura asked with sly eyes.

"Of course! We just declared that we were going out, I'm not just gonna invite him into the bed and snuggle up with him so fast!" Tenten blurted out in frustration

Temari turned red knowing that she did just that.

"You're no fun!" Ino cried

"Well I'm sure Hinata and Temari didn't let them either, right girls?" Tenten claimed trying to convince them.

"O-oh, umm Kiba just slept at the foot of the bed since the bed's so big" Hinata muttered.

'_Like a true dog'_ every thought.

"What about you Temari?"

"Uh…Of course he slept on the couch! That's out of the question!" Temari lied knowing that telling the truth would give out wrong ideas.

"See?" Tenten crossed her arms in success.

"You're all boring" Ino quoted.

"Naruto? Is that you peeping there?"

The girls exited the change rooms in their robes again after a nice long bath and saw all of the guys sitting in front of them waiting.

"Hey!" Sakura yelled out to them.

The boys turned their heads in the girls' direction and got up from their seats.

They all started to walk in the direction of the dining area.

All of the sudden Temari felt someone pull her arm around the corner, "What are you-!" she stopped talking when she saw Shikamaru

She felt her face flush.

"Uh yeah…we better get going or we'll lose the rest of the gang" she said nervously trying to worm her way out of Shikamaru's grip.

"It's alright, we'll catch up later, but first, I want to apologise for before at the buffet table. I had no right to-ugh this is so troublesome" Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head with a bit of colour coming onto his cheeks.

'_Aww, I have to admit that he's acting pretty cute…' _She thought "Oh, don't worry about it…" Temari murmured not knowing how to respond, "But I don't get it, why do you care so much?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened and he looked away quickly, "Umm…"

"Yeah…?" Temari beckoned for an answer

"I guess it's because I, well, I kinda…I li-" Shikamaru got interrupted by Naruto

"Come on you two, you're falling behind we thought we lost you!" Naruto cried and ran off.

"Yeah, yeah…" Shikamaru sighed and started to walk off.

"No, wait!" Temari called after him and grabbed on to Shikamaru's arm, "What were you going to say?"

"I don't know, I forgot…" he mumbled

"Don't lie! Tell me!" she demanded

"First you tell me what's up with your random behaviour!" Shikamaru ordered back

"Fine then! Since you REALLY want to know! Ever since this morning you won't get out of my frikin' head! It's driving me crazy. The scenes of last night keep repeating in my head. I hate the fact that you saw my weak side so easily and I hate it even more that you were able to help me out of it! I don't normally let my guard down in front of anyone. I'm usually poised and composed, but when I'm around YOU, I feel like a complete klutz who needs to be protected. I'm not used to this feeling and I don't know what it is! I'm confused and my talking goes all jittery, my legs feel heavy, everything goes wrong! All my thoughts revolve around you and…and…" Temari blurted out getting mixed with feelings of anger, hatred, annoyance, tears and something else.

"Temari…don't tell me…" Shikamaru gasped stunned at the sudden outburst.

"I-I think I'm falling for you…" Temari breathed out.

Shikamaru's eye's widened.

* * *

Because I'm super evil I left you at a cliff-hanger!

Mwahahahahahaahaaaaaa

Ok, I promise that the next update won't take that long so that you can read the outcome ASAP.

Of course only if you review

Mwahahahaha

Nah I'm kidding but it's well appreciated

Thanks

Chanel~


	16. Pt 5 Confessions and Smartass Sasuke

Ok I'm sort of on time with the update so you won't kill me for not relieving you of this cliff-hanger

I was thinking of making you suffer…but nah I'm not THAT mean.

Ok, I have just found the absolute PERFECT pictures of Konoha High from this brilliant Japanese artist!

She has drawn the gang of hotties (besides Neji unfortunately) in their uniform strutting down the hall looking sexy!

There's also a great ShikaTema picture as well with Shikamaru in his uniform and Temari surprising him with a can of soda

Anyway, if you have time, here are the links:

[EDIT] Didn't work the first time so I added space to it so you can see it

Strutting down the hall: http:/ . com/albums/ad227/ konohahigh/Strutting . jpg

Running away (from fangirls): http:/ i938. photobucket . com/albums/ad227/konohahigh /Runaway .png

Kiba at the cultural festival: http:/ /i938. photobucket . com/albums/ad227 /konohahigh/Kibafest . png

Shikamaru and Temari holding pinky fingers (reminded me of the love game): http :/ . com/albums/ad227 /konohahigh/Pinky . png

One that reminded me of the Haunted House situation: http: / . com/albums/ll82/ Xiamara9000/Naruto/ShikaTema_3_ by_Akira_Miduki . jpg

Soda ;D : http: / .c om/albums/ad227/ konohahigh/SodaD. jpg

And this one is a preview into the future: http: / . com/albums/y135/ bibi-chan/Grupeczka137 . jpg

I hope you enjoy those.

I wish someone would do some cover art for Konoha High or a manga version of it sometime!

Took me a while to find the artist (since it's from a Japanese website) but I finally did ^^

But it was all worth it because I wanted to share it to my beautiful reviewers: MsEvilbabe; Xsusanox; I Love Shy Girls; Lupita; Shikatema52007; xlilyunyun; idoenjoyanime; rubyparker93; Temari93; zoeeeeeee; bittersweet-temari; TsunaNarik; Melted Glass; .Idea; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; Watshi wa da D desu; x-chocolate-chara-x and MariPeaceRocker

Ok, now that that is over, for the moment you were waiting for!

* * *

A tear ran down Temari's left eye out of frustration from the sudden outburst she just had.

Shikamaru stared at her dumbfounded with eyes wide open.

Temari wandered about what he was thinking. Even with the change of expression, he was very hard to read.

Shikamaru didn't know what to think. For the first time in his life he wasn't thinking. His mind came to the halt at the sudden overload of information that he had to catch up.

He wasn't sure on how to feel either, so he was left with the dumb look on his face.

There was a very large pause.

"Damn…" Shikamaru mumbled.

Temari's heart stopped and she held her breath while looking down at her shoes with sudden interest in the buckle

She didn't know how to respond.

'Damn' isn't exactly a word of encouragement or acceptance…

He sounded…disappointed…

Great, now she felt like she was going to cry.

Bawl her eyes out.

What did she mention about feeling helpless in front of him?

She continued to be interested in her shoes.

"It's suppose to be the man who makes the first move, but you bet me to it, troublesome woman…" Shikamaru continued

Temari's heart started to go again and she felt like she could breathe.

Actually, now it was beating _too_ fast and her breathing became shortened.

Her head flicked up to look at the pair of chocolate liquid eyes meeting her teal ones.

Shikamaru was grinning looking pretty proud of himself.

"Shi…Shika-" Temari started to babble again, but Shikamaru's finger placed on her lips soon interrupted it.

"Don't take my second chance as well…" he whispered

Temari felt like she was melting and stop speaking straight away.

She thought that she will her punch herself later for being so girly and bubbly and intent on listening to the man in front of her.

But then again, one time couldn't hurt.

After all, she herself is a girl.

"I've…liked you for a little while now," Shikamaru started to explain while blushing, "When I first saw you, I thought you were like all of the other girls who won't leave me alone and babble on making a fuss; but you weren't. When you saw me, you looked at me indifferently. You spoke so rough and casually, I became curious. You were a challenge to understand and get to know and I normally hate challenges…" Shikamaru took a deep breath, "But I think I can make an exception this time". He grinned cheekily with a bit more colour coming onto his cheeks.

Temari opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.

She was stuck on what to say.

"Please don't go silent. You look like a fish doing that…" Shikamaru commented

Temari would normally get angry at him for saying this, but she wasn't. This wasn't a time to get angry. Instead she gave him a wide, cheeky smile baring all of her teeth.

Shikamaru broke it off and grabbed her hand; "We better go catch up to the rest before things get difficult" he explained and pulled her along to find their friends.

Everything happened so fast.

Temari didn't know what to do anymore. She had drifted off into dreamy haze.

"Hey, can you answer a question for me?" Shikamaru asked seriously

"Yeah…" Temari agreed snapping out of her haze.

"Why are you afraid of thunder and lightening?"

Temari paused for a bit.

"Gah! Never mind...you don't have to tell me if it's too hard…" Shikamaru scratched the back of his head roughly.

Temari shook her head, "No, I'll tell you. It's because it reminds me of the night my mother died"

"Oh…sorry…" Shikamaru apologised.

"No, it's really ok. I still remember it though. It was a dark and stormy night. My mother had just given birth to my little brother Gaara and she was lying on the hospital bed. I came over to her and she looked so frail that I felt like I couldn't touch her otherwise she'd shatter. She reached her hand out to me and I held it. She was shaking so hard. I didn't know what to say so I just continued to hold her hand. Then my father walked in and…pulled the plug. He wasn't meant to, but he just did. I ran to him crying and asking why he would do that to mother trying to plug it back in, but he just smacked me and said I was being to loud and reason was because there was no longer any use of having her and walked out of the room. The doctors and nurses started to charge in, but it was too late. Mum was already gone. Thunder kept resounding in the room so every time I hear it, I would always remember that horrible scene. I hate that bastard called my father!" Temari looked down after her explanation.

Shikamaru went silent for a bit, "So that's why…"

"I still won't forgive him" Temari spoke yet again.

"Death…" Shikamaru spoke softly, "Is a hard thing to deal with. The idea of not seeing someone again is hard…for anyone. Especially someone close to yourself. I have never experienced it before myself, besides my grandparents that I hardly knew since they died when I was really young, so I don't know how it really feels, but I know it isn't something to can just forget".

Temari stared at him in response, "Yeah, you're right. That's why I could never be someone like a policeman or a nurse or a…I don't know…a ninja because you'll have to experience it all of the time".

"A ninja?" Shikamaru questioned slightly grinning.

"Oh shut up. The point is I would never become one because of the pain of death," Temari hissed.

"Yeah, but death shouldn't be something we should fear and hide away from. We have to accept that we all have to face it sometime. There's a reason why it's a good card in the Tarot cards".

"It is? I always thought that it's a bad card because in all of those movies, whenever it shows up the main character's in trouble"

"Nah, the movies lie. It literally means a new start, beginning, an opening of a new chapter. Like reincarnation…"

"Oh, I get it; because after death in a new life"

"Exactly" Shikamaru responded still grinning.

"Uh…Shikamaru…" Temari mumbled.

"Yeah?"

"Can we, keep our relationship a bit of a secret for the moment? Let Tenten and Neji have their moment in the spotlight for now. I really can't be bothered being bombarded with questions from the girls tonight and Tenten can't get away so easily" Temari quickly explained making sure Shikamaru didn't get the wrong idea.

Shikamaru nodded, "Sure. The same goes with me and the guys"

Temari looked at him intently. He looked like he was telling the truth so she sighed in relief.

"Hey! There you guys are!" Naruto exclaimed as they had finally caught up.

Shikamaru quickly let go of Temari's hand.

"We were wondering where you guys went" Tenten raised an eyebrow

"What took you two so long?" Ino complained.

Temari hesitated on what to say.

Luckily Shikamaru answered them without a doubt, "Needed to go to the toilet"

"Fair enough…" Neji nodded accept the answer.

"Come on! Let's go already!" Kiba barked

So the gang walked around the luxurious resort having a good time.

It was now night time after dinner and the girls had slipped into their PJs and were all located in Ino and Sakura's room.

The mocktails and popcorn were all out and they all sat on the massive bed once again.

The girls were interrogating Tenten still who looked like she was about to die, but still answered truthfully.

It was lucky that Temari hadn't said anything about her and Shikamaru and neither did he otherwise she'll be in that exact spot.

When she eventually does, it'll be a Friday afternoon after school when they are all busy on the weekend. This way they couldn't question her in class since it was over for the week or over the weekend since they were busy, though she'll turn off her mobile just in case; and hopefully they would've cooled down by Monday and the teachers will tell them to shut up for talking in the middle of class. She could probably handle an hour of interrogating during lunch and if not, there was always the library.

After a while they decided to turn in and go to bed.

"Well, I guess this is the end of our Hot Springs party. After all, we have to return home tomorrow…" Sakura sighed

"How sad…" Hinata looked down.

"There's no need to be depressed girls! We could always have another sleepover party whenever we want. Plus the cultural festival is up next week; which is going to be fun! Plenty of hot boys will be visiting our school!" Ino exclaimed with excitement for the last bit.

Temari had almost forgotten about the cultural festival, "What will we be doing this year?"

"I dunno. We do something different every year. Normally we would write up everyone's opinion on the board and vote for which one they would like to do. If there's a draw in any, we would chuck it in a hat" Tenten replied

"I hope we do something easy like a stall where we get heaps of free time to snoop for some hotties," Ino commented

"Or maybe a Maid café! I've always wanted to wear one of those cute outfits!" Sakura suggested.

'_Definitely not' _Temari thought

"I-I hope not a h-haunted house…" Hinata stuttered

'_Have to agree on that'_ Temari thought yet again.

"I don't mind as long as it's fun and easy…" Tenten laid on her back

"What did you do at your school Temari?" Sakura asked

"Oh, we never had a cultural festival because our school's so small and not many people live around the area and those who did will have no choice but to attend our school so there was no point. Instead we held a performance for all of the parents and guardians at the end of the year" Temari answered

"Like a play?" Tenten wondered

"Yeah…we would have a play where some student would act, while others would play music, make props, costumes, write the script, work backstage, the lights, all of that."

"What would you do?" Hinata asked.

"Being the principal's daughter, I was normally forced to play a role with my siblings"

"You have sibling? Brothers or sisters?" Ino questioned intrigued.

"Two brothers. One's a few months younger and the other one's a year younger"

"Do they look anything like you?" Tenten asked

"Nah, not at all. One has brown hair, while the other one has red. We all don't look alike."

"How strange…" Sakura pondered.

"Gosh, we were meant to be leaving and we ended up talking for another half hour. I'm really buggered so I'm going now…" Tenten got off the floor and walked to the door.

Everyone followed.

"True, you wouldn't want to keep Neji waiting now do you?" Ino winked

"Shut up Ino…" Tenten hissed and left.

Temari and Hinata also bid them goodnight and left.

Meanwhile during the sleepover, Shikamaru was down at the lobby re-checking their time to leave tomorrow.

On the way back to the lifts, he walked past Sasuke.

"I see you guys have finally hooked up…" Sasuke commented.

Shikamaru stopped, "What are you going on about?"

"Don't play dumb. I can tell. Nice cover up with the 'toilet' business" Sasuke smirked

"Whatever. Just don't mention anything. We've agreed to keep it a secret now so I hope you respect that" Shikamaru snarled

"Fine, I know better than to talk about someone else's business. Why keep it a secret?"

"Well…why do you want to keep you and Naruto a secret?"

"So it doesn't cause a commotion at school from the girls."

"Exactly"

"I still don't think it would be that bad…"

"Temari nearly broke something during PE for just _talking _to me last time. Imagine when they find out a bit more"

"I see, you have got a point" Sasuke nodded his head in agreement

"Right, so that why it has to _stay_ a secret"

"Fair enough. It's safe with me. Plus, I wouldn't want you to use our secret as a scapegoat out of your situation now would I?"

"I'm glad we have come to an understanding"

They both grinned at each other and returned to their rooms.

When Shikamaru had reached his room, he started to neaten up his stuff to get ready for leaving tomorrow and threw himself onto the bed for some sleep.

He soon woke up after a few hours from the sound of Temari's footsteps.

She quietly went to the bathroom and he could hear her brushing her teeth.

When she finished, she got out of the bathroom and tiptoed into the bed trying not to wake the already woken Shikamaru.

Pretending to be asleep, he lazily placed his arm around her waist.

She shuddered a bit, but she didn't reject it, neither did she accept it.

He decided to take it a step further and pulled her closer.

"You're not asleep are you lazy ass?" Temari murmured

"Damn, you got me" Shikamaru replied sarcastically.

"Sneaky bastard" she hissed in return, yet snuggled a little closer to him.

"I don't feel you pulling away" Shikamaru teased

Temari smacked him hard in the face.

"Oww…that hurt you know!" Shikamaru cried and complained

"I'm sorry" Temari apologised and kissed along his jaw line, which led her to his lips.

He returned the kiss and soon they started making out.

Afterwards, Temari cuddled close to his chest and fell asleep.

It's a wonder to how Shikamaru controlled himself.

Oh how Temari tortures him.

* * *

I'm sorry this chapter was kinda short

I have heaps of homework and exams are coming up

I hope you liked it

It's really difficult to picture their confessions and such, but I hope I got it right.

Did you like the little joke of Temari not wanting to be a ninja?

Well please review.

It will be well appreciated!

Chanel~


	17. Mixed Up Roles and A Dress Again Sasuke?

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the late update but I've been SO busy it's not even funny anymore!

Last week I had a Halloween party so I had to make my costume. Then I had to make a sample of my handmade invitation for some party (don't even ask).

Then this week I was busy studying for my SAC (which has passed now) and I had my formal on Thursday!! Then I had to make another sample of an invite because I needed some other details.

The formal was so much fun and it gave me ideas for a new chapter for the future ;D

Now I have to study for exams…but first a new chapter ^^

Again, thanks for your patience reviewers…keep up the good work!

Rubyparker93; xlilyunyun; innesgirl; Lupita; Godtmark; Watshi wad a D desu; bittersweet-temari; Sasukeloverforever; Ume Midori; MsEvilbabe; MariPeaceRocker; narutohinalover; TenderRose; TheSilentDarkness; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; Sjorsie; idoenjoyanime; LadyBella

Here's another cookie *hands cookie*

Now, it's cultural festival time!!

* * *

School has been so chatty lately since it was time for the Cultural Festival to start.

I've never had a Cultural Festival before since Suna never held one from the lack of people in the school.

Our form room teacher Kakashi had grabbed a few pieces of paper, and then sliced them into many little pieces.

Then he handed out a piece to everyone in the room.

"Ok class," Kakashi had spoken up over the chatter after giving out the pieces of paper to the class, "Please write down what you would like to do as a class out of the choices off the board onto the small piece of paper given for the cultural festival, then after writing it down, place it into this little box on my desk", pointing at the small box with a question mark on it.

Afterwards, Kakashi started to write on the board the choices they've got.

They were:

A Café

A Play

A Stall

Haunted House

A different type of performance on stage

Some kind of game

Temari contemplated at the choices given.

She definitely did NOT a want to do a Haunted House or a Café (for obvious reasons) and she wasn't a fan of performing since that was what her school did every year and she wanted a change, so all that was left was a stall. But that sounded so boring, so Temari was definitely stuck.

"Hey Temari, what are you going to choose?" Sakura asked her discretely.

"I don't know…it's hard to choose…" Temari answered staring at her blank piece of paper.

"Choose the play Temari! I want to act as the main female role really badly!" Ino pleaded.

"I don't care what it is as long it isn't the Haunted House or the Café…ugh choosing is so troublesome…" Shikamaru complained.

'_Looks like Shikamaru is thinking the same thing as me'_ Temari thought.

"Why don't you want to do the Haunted House or Café? The Haunted House sounds like fun" Kiba asked curiously.

"Yeah…I wonder why…" Sasuke thought out loud sarcastically grinning.

Shikamaru glared at him.

"Anyway…" Temari started speaking try to break the awkward air, "I'm still not sure, what about you Hinata?"

"U-Umm…I'm thinking about the C-Café…I really don't like performing in front of people, but I do like sweets". Hinata stuttered slightly.

"If Hinata says Café, then I'm in…" Kiba quoted.

"What about you Chouji?" Shikamaru asked

"I don't know, Ino's writing mine" Chouji stuffed some chips in his mouth taking full advantage of Kakashi being really lenient.

"Well, I say the play sounds fun…well anything on stage really…" Tenten stated her opinion.

"I think a store will be easiest to manage…" Neji calmly spoke.

"Why has no one asked for my opinion? I'm all for GAMES!" Naruto yelled out happily.

"Naruto! Calm down and write something down…the same goes for the rest of the class. Let's try to get this done fast so we can just muck around afterwards." Kakashi told off Naruto calmly.

"_Are teachers meant to say things like this?" _Temari pondered.

Everyone finally quietened down a bit and placed their suggestions into the box.

Temari just scribbled down 'stall' thinking that no one will choose it and placed it into the box.

After everyone in the class had written what they wanted to do, Kakashi spoke out to the class again in a lazy tone, "Alright, now we'll tally up the results. Neji, you're the Student Council Pres, can you please do it?"

Neji got up from his seat, a bit reluctantly, and started pouring out the little pieces of paper out of the box and counted them up.

Tenten went down to help him and started tallying up the results onto the board.

When they finished, Tenten moved away from the board and revealed the results.

After a couple of moments for everyone to read and analyse the results, the winner was…

A play.

"Aww man!!" a couple of male classmates complained.

"YES!!!" Ino screamed out in joy.

Hinata shuddered.

Sakura shrugged.

Shikamaru sighed out a 'troublesome'.

Temari didn't think much of it.

She didn't fancy performing, but she didn't exactly hate it.

She definitely DIDN'T want a main role, a side role would do.

It was moments like these when she hoped that she had some skill like sewing or painting, so she could just get away with just being in the stage crew or something.

"OK everyone. A play it is! Now it would be good to first figure out who will take charge of the costumes and background painting, as well as a script and so forth".

"Ah, Hinata! You should do the costumes! You're really good at designing and making delicate things like that. Also, that way you won't have to perform." Sakura suggested

"Hinata, can you make clothes?" Temari asked curiously.

"U-umm…not very well…" Hinata replied humbly.

"Are you kidding?! You're like pro Hinata!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Yeah, Akamaru still loves the doggy jumper you made him for Christmas" Kiba mentioned.

"O-ok, I'll do it!" Hinata then got up and told Kakashi.

In the end, Hinata and a few other classmates were doing costumes, Sai and others were painting the background and Chouji and Lee with a few others were stage crew.

Afterwards, they learnt that the play was Sleeping Beauty.

"Now that that is over, everyone who doesn't have a role, please line up at the front and pick out a piece of paper out of this box. Whatever is written on your piece of paper is the role you are going to fulfil. No swapping allowed. You are what you get, no questions asked" Kakashi explained to the class pulling out yet another box from under the table.

Everyone reluctantly got up from their seats and lined up at the front.

Temari stuck her hand in the box and pulled out a piece from the bottom.

She then returned to her seat and slowly pried open the piece of paper.

'Prince' is what it said.

'_What?' _Temari thought.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sasuke bellowed at the front.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke showed Naruto his piece of paper.

"BAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAAAA!" Naruto started laughing with tears coming out of his eyes, "YOU GOT PRINCESS! YOU GOT PRINCESS!!" He went hysterical.

"WHAT?! That was my role!!" Ino cried.

"Here, you can gladly take it" Sasuke hand over his piece of paper.

Ino beamed.

"No you don't!" Kakashi yelled, "I explained before that there's no swapping"

"But Kakashi, I can't play as the princess!" Sasuke complained…amazingly.

"Sorry Sasuke, but what you get is what you get…" Kakashi said a little sympathetic.

Ino pouted.

'_They probably should've separated male and female roles first before picking them out'_ Temari thoguht

"What did you get?" Shikamaru asked Temari from behind.

"You wouldn't believe it" Temari replied.

"Why? What is it? Don't tell me…"

"Yep, the prince." Temari cut him off.

Shikamaru chuckled.

"What did you get?" Temari asked.

"The best role ever…back up" Shikamaru managed to say after chuckling

"What, so you just fill in the role of whoever can't perform?"

"Exactly"

"Can't we swap?" Temari begged

"No way. Me and Sasuke? No thanks" Shikamaru rejected rather quickly

Temari sighed. She knew better that it was no use.

"Alright everyone! Be quiet now and tell me your roles!" Kakashi yelled out for attention.

Slowly, everyone yelled out his or her results.

Sakura got the role of the pink fairy, Ino got the role of the Queen/mother, Neji was the King/father, Tenten was the blue fairy, Kiba's role was the gold fairy, which is now the golden fairy godfather and Naruto is the evil witch.

'_It's really hard to picture Naruto as anything evil being so bright and happy and all'_ Temari thought to herself and looking around when Naruto said that he was playing the evil witch she could see everyone's faces were in doubt.

"Temari, what role did you pick up?" Kakashi asked.

Temari swallowed hard, "…the prince…" She murmured.

Everyone turned around to look at her and started to whisper to one another.

Shikamaru started chuckling again.

"Man…I wish I could play as the prince…then I could have a kissing scene with Sasuke…" Sakura sighed in envy.

Shikamaru suddenly stopped chuckling. He didn't think of that.

Neither did Temari.

"Well _I_ still want to be the princess!" Ino complained and huffed.

"Why am I always playing the character whose left out…" Naruto whined.

"Dude, at least you don't have to play as a chic!" Kiba argued

"Well since the role got changed slightly by gender, you are still a guy Kiba…but with wings" Chouji explained

"He would probably rather get a pair of cute doggy ears and a tail" Sasuke smirked

"Are you trying to pick a fight?!" Kiba screamed

"Well at least you can all show YOUTH! I'm in the background not even seen…I'M SORRY GAI-SENSEI!" Lee cried and ran out of the room

There was a large silence.

"Well…that was weird…" Naruto managed to say.

After some more chatter, the bell went signalling lunch.

Everyone filed out of the room.

Temari took a step out of the door and she felt someone drag her away.

It was Shikamaru.

"W-Where are you taking me?" she stuttered slightly at Shikamaru's abruptness.

"I just want to talk…" he explained and continued to drag her away to a secluded area.

When they were finally alone, Shikamaru let go of Temari's hand and turned to face her.

"What's up Shikamaru?" Temari asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's about the play…" he explained

"What about it? I really don't want to be reminded…" Temari groaned.

"I don't want you to…kiss Sasuke" Shikamaru flushed a little bit

"Well that makes two of us. You're the one who didn't want to swap"

"Well me kissing him doesn't really solve anything either" he mumbled

"Unfortunately, as much as I want to change that fact, there's nothing I can do. It's not like you have to worry about it, Sasuke doesn't exactly 'swing' my way…" Temari giggled a bit.

"But still…you shouldn't really…" Shikamaru murmured.

"And why is that?" Temari teased.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru stalled for time.

"Why shouldn't I kiss anyone else?"

"Don't make me say it Temari…" Shikamaru groaned

"Say what? I have no idea what you're on about; that's why I asked" Temari grinned.

"Don't play innocent with me, you know why"

"I'm pretty sure I don't. That's why-" Temari soon go cut off by Shikamaru's lips.

Temari hated to say it, but she did feel like she was melting.

She normally hates all of those stupid girly stories and fairytales when their prince of their dreams saves them and gives them a kiss and they always describe the feeling of melting.

It normally makes her feel sick and want to barf.

But for some reason, that was the last thing she was thinking of and melting was the best way of describing it.

After a little while they parted for a breath.

"Is that a good enough reason for you?" Shikamaru huffed

Temari took a deep breath, "Yeah, I think so"

They laughed for a little bit and then they returned to their lockers to put their books away and met up with their friends in their usual meeting spot.

* * *

It was a few days later and everyone was trying on his or her costumes.

Temari stepped out of her changing room a little nervously.

"Waaah!!" everyone swooned.

Temari had to admit that Hinata was good with costumes.

She made herself look like a really authentic dashing prince.

Not too manly, but not too feminine either.

She had a cape; she wore tights and a puffy sleeved top, boots, a belt with a sword and a feather hat.

She also had to tie her hair in a low ponytail.

"Wow Temari! You make a way better prince than any guy in our class would've" Ino smiled

"I say!' Tenten gasped in awe.

Temari felt completely and utterly embarrassed.

Then the attention turned away from her when a girl with long black hair walked out.

There was complete silence.

That girl was Sasuke.

He wore a long, frilly, purple princess dress that was designed like an old fashioned, ballroom gown.

The skirt puffed out, the top part hugged close to his body giving an illusion of an 'hourglass' shape, it was padded to give him a bit more of shape and he was also wearing a wig giving him long, black, wavy hair.

Nearly everyone in the room was blushing.

Even the guys.

"It's amazing how much dresses seem to like you. It really suits you. Purple is _so_ your colour" It was Shikamaru's turn to grin after whispering to Sasuke.

"Want me to hurt you?" Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"That would be very un-princess like, now wouldn't it Sasuke-beauty?"

"Get lost" Sasuke hissed.

"Ne, ne Sasuke! It's like Déjà vu isn't it" Naruto commented

"Shut it Dobe. Don't you start!"

"Well, I'm gonna leave you two love birds alone" Shikamaru chuckled walking away.

"Aren't you afraid I'm gonna steal a kiss away from your lovely maiden?' Sasuke threatened

Shikamaru pause in his tracks, "You wouldn't dare…after all, what about Naruto?"

"Yeah Sasuke! What about me?" Naruto whimpered not actually knowing what's going on.

"Well, it's not like I'll choose to just to piss you off, I do have better things to do even though it sounds fun, but Kakashi seems to be really into it, so we might be forced to."

"Well then there's nothing we can do about it is there?" Shikamaru glared

Sasuke grinned evilly.

"KYAA!" All of the girls swooned a bit delayed after being so stunned.

"Is that really Sasuke" Some of the guys in the class murmured to each other.

"Watch out Sasuke, it seems you're targeted by both genders. Lucky you" Shikamaru chuckled and walked off towards Temari.

Temari watched Shikamaru walk towards her grinning.

'_Oh great, he's going to make fun of me. I'm sure of it'_ she thought to herself.

"You look good" he complemented.

Temari paused.

Did she hear right?

"Thanks…" she flushed a bit.

Then what was that silly grin for?

"Isn't it funny how much dresses suit Sasuke?" Shikamaru commented

'_Oh, that's what he's grinning about'_

"It's amazing how well that costume suits you" Shikamaru continued to observe.

"What do you mean by that?" Temari questioned

"I mean exactly that"

"Why is it amazing?"

"Because it is"

"Don't make me make you say it again"

"Technically I never said anything of the sort"

"And would that sort be?"

"What ever you're insinuating"

"And what would that be?"

"Your annoying troublesome woman"

"And you're a lazy ass but you don't see me complaining"

Shikamaru and Temari continued to throw remarks at one another.

"I don't even know what their fight is even about anymore…" Kiba commented watching the couple hiss at each other un-namely things.

"Its now just down to plain insults…" Hinata sighed.

"Just ignore the stupid couple Hinata, just ignore…" Neji quoted.

* * *

Well that's it!

I hope you enjoyed the somewhat long chapter and accept it as an apology for taking too long to update.

Pretty please review.

Thanks for your patience and hope you have a less busy week than me.

Now studying for exams…yay…

Chanel~


	18. Who's red now? DOUBLE SPECIAL EDITION!

Here's an update!! (finally)

Sorry but I've been REALLY busy since we're now heading to the end of the year with the Christmas spirit amiss.

I finished exams (woo), music concerts over and schools now over too!!!

Also, my Christmas decorating is nearly done so I have time to write! (Yeshhh!!)

Right now I'm on the aeroplane flying back home form Malaysia so hopefully my laptop won't run out of batteries!

Oh yeah…now with Christmas about, I should try to think of a nice ShikaTema Christmas story to celebrate…what do you think?

Right now I'm bringing you the SUPER DELUXE DOUBLE CHAPTER!!

It's longer and much more exciting than the others :D

My _extra _special love goes Net-chan who has volunteered to draw up a comic version of Konoha High!!

Woop!

She's awesome at drawing too and I'll inform everyone on what's happening next update!

Please, if you wanted to do a cover page, you still can! I happily accept every ShikaTema fanart out there!

Special thanks to the following for being awesome and reviewing: MsEvilBabe; ; Sasukeloverforever; Lupita; Temari93; xlilyunyun; Dashedka; TwilightRocker55; bittersweet-temari; ShikaTem Sand-Leaf; Ree Nakada-chan; Kimimmari Myou Uchiha; LadyBella; SNORLAX; rubyparker93; Watshi wa da D desu; ChocolateAngel-san; Anialis; kyo's-kitten256;

I really love you all! If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't be writing this chapter at the moment.

Alright, enough of me…now for the moment you've been waiting for…

* * *

Everyone in class found themselves in their homeroom rehearsing the play.

"Only true love's first kiss can break this spell laid on the poor damsel" Tenten quoted.

"True…love's…?" Temari murmured and hovered over Sasuke's lips, but not making any contact faking out a kiss.

Sasuke's eyes opened up slowly as if he was woken up from a peaceful slumber as Temari got up, "Who are you?" he questioned Temari.

"I'm the prince who was called to save your life from your horrid fate" Temari majestically bellowed.

"My…prince…?" Sasuke softly spoke.

Shikamaru tried to stifle a laugh hearing Sasuke speaking in such a girly manner. Looking around the room, he could tell everyone else was doing the same thing.

"Yes, please, let us be off to your kingdom where we shall wed and live happily ever…alright I can't STAND this anymore! This is highly ridiculous!" Temari called out breaking the cloudy atmosphere.

Everyone groaned.

"What's the problem_ now_ Temari?" Sakura complained.

"This is stupid, seriously! The girl as known the guy for, like, 2 minutes and suddenly they're off to get married?! This guy could be some perverted, abusive, wife-basher, which wouldn't be a surprise since he just went off and kissed her without any hesitations! I mean, WHO THE HELL DOES THAT?! Sure she's grateful that he saved her from an eternity of sleep, blah blah blah, but how does that have anything to do with marriage?"

"We get what you're saying Temari, but this is a _fairytale_, problems like abusing and what not don't exist! The details don't matter and your his your _true love_, so marrying him is normal…" Sakura sighed in grief

"Doesn't change the fact it's STUPID. Can't we do something about this? My lines are so…cheesy!" Temari pleaded.

"Sorry Temari, but you can't change the original story…"

"Geez, I'm just not cut out for this role…" Sasuke groaned pulling off his wig, "you need some dreamy, dramatic, doe-eyed girl to play the princess, like Ino"

"See! Even Sasuke agrees that I was MADE for this role!" Ino huffed.

"No Sasuke! You HAVE to play as the princess…you're so good!" The girls in the class complained with their eyes sparkling.

Sasuke's face turned sour.

Naruto, Kiba and Shikamaru couldn't hold it for any longer and belched out a massive laughed that filled the room.

"I guess having a pretty face _does_ have its disadvantages…" Kiba grinned

"S-S-Sorry S-Sasuke…" Naruto apologized trying to stop laughing.

Shikamaru gave a huge smirk.

"The hell to you all!" Sasuke yelled out and stormed out of the room slamming the door behind him.

"No, Sasuke wait!" Naruto called out for him chasing him down the hallway, "You're still wearing your dress!!"

Sasuke swiftly ran back in the room slamming the door shut yet again fearing his life hoping no one saw him.

"_Idiot…" _Temari thought.

"Alright! That's enough…one more time everyone! This is the last rehearsal before the festival tomorrow." Neji called out clapping his hands.

* * *

After the last painful dress rehearsal, Temari slung her bag around one arm and collapsed on the grass around the front taking a breather.

"_Geez it's so tiring this whole play thing…" _she thought to herself letting out a huge sigh.

She froze when she felt some cold touch her cheek.

She turned around to see it was a can of soda with Shikamaru holding it.

"Hey" Shikamaru greeted.

"Hey…" Temari replied smiling.

She grabbed the can of soda, cracked it open and took a large sip out of it.

Shikamaru sat down next to her and laid back.

"Thanks" Temari said gratefully.

Shikamaru nodded looking up at the clouds.

They sat there for a little while in silence wondering off in their own dreams.

"Is your family coming down to the festival tomorrow?" Temari asked still staring down at her feet.

"Yeah…but I'm not sure if I want them to because of your bad acting…" Shikamaru grinned.

"Shut up! I just find the whole thing ridiculous and the girl's a total ditz case! I mean, there's a reason why there were no spin-wheel thingos in her town, yet she sees one and thinks 'oh yeah, why not try and use this thing and prick my finger on it?' How stupid could you get! And the whole marriage thing. She only knew the guy for two minutes because the stupid perv kissed her and she agrees to go marry him! .Hell!!"

"Temari...I'll say this again. It's.. It doesn't have to be realistic"

"I guess...but I get shivers down my spine by just saying those seedy lines. It's disgusting!" Temari poked out her tongue.

Shikamaru laughed, "Don't worry, tomorrow's the last time you will have to say any of those lines ever again. I'm glad I didn't get a role." Shikamaru sighed and continued to look up at the clouds.

"I wish you did get a role so you can suffer with me. It's unfair you don't have to do anything..." Temari huffed.

Shikamaru laughed, "Well, let's walk around together at the festival and I'll suffer enough from that to make up for it"

Temari punched him playfully on the shoulder, "You asked for it".

* * *

Konoha High's cultural festival had finally begun.

There were many banners and flyer and balloons with multiple stalls and lots of people bustling about.

It wasn't as extraordinary as the Mist's, but it did give them a good run for their money.

"Wow, so many people..." Temari stared in awe.

"Not use to the crowds huh?" Shikamaru asked

"No, Suna was really small, so even with parents and relatives, it never got this big"

"Ok, you go off and have fun then. I'm going to go lie on the roof and watch the clouds. Later" Shikamaru started to walk off.

Temari grabbed him by the shoulder, "Oh no you don't! You offered a day of suffering, so you're gonna get it!"

"But the weather and the clouds are so perfect today. How was I meant to know that" Shikamaru whimpered

"I don't know. You're the genius" Temari smirked and dragged him around the multiple stalls.

Temari was having a ball and Shikamaru held a grumpy look on his face the whole time, but inside, he was having fun.

"Hey, look! They have takoyaki and ramune over there!" Temari shouted out pointing to a distant standing, disappearing into the crowd.

"W-Wait up troublesome woman!" Shikamaru ran after her and accidentally bumped into someone.

Looking up at the man he bumped to, he saw a tuff of brown hair and purple paint on his face.

"Oi! Watch where you're going!" the man swore

"Uh...sorry..." Shikamaru apologised, _'Jerk'_

"Kankuro, don't go around here picking up fights with whoever you bump into. It tends to happen all the time at festivals" a red head young man behind him explained, "sorry for my brother's lack of manners" he apologised to Shikamaru.

"No problem" Shikamaru accepted the apology. _'How the hell are they related?'_

The brown haired guy, seemingly named Kankuro, huffed and stormed off.

The red head bowed his head and walk off after him.

'_Well that was weird...'_ Shikamaru thought to himself

"Hey lazy-ass! Take your time why don't ya! I thought I lost you" Temari yelled out to Shikamaru

'_Funny...Temari and that guy Kankuro pretty much have the same level of abruptness'_ at this Shikamaru grinned.

"What's so funny?" Temari asked curious to what he was grinning about.

"It's nothing..."

"Well, we better get back to our classroom soon. It's about time to get ready to perform"

"You're right...I'm just gonna go to the bathroom first" Shikamaru explained and disappeared to the Mens.

"I'll wait to make sure you don't run off and go watch some clouds" Temari smirked and leaned on the wall.

When Shikamaru was finished, he walked out the door and saw Temari.

"Hey Shikamaru! My brothers came" Temari smiled happily.

"IT'S YOU!" One of the 'so called brothers' yelled out pointing at him.

Shikamaru looked to Temari's left and saw the browned haired 'Kankuro', who was now pointing at him, and the red head.

"Kankuro...your an embarrassment" the red head quoted with one hand on his forehead shaking his head displeased.

Temari punched Kankuro in the face, "Stop being rude"

"Temari...that was too harsh" Kankuro whined.

Shikamaru stifled a laugh watching the man getting brutally bashed by his siblings.

"Sorry about that Shikamaru. The rude one is my younger brother Kankuro who is in the same year as us; and the other more polite one is my youngest Gaara, who is one year below us. Brothers, this is Shikamaru" Temari explained.

'_How are they related? Temari's blonde, Kankuro's a brunette and Gaara's a red-head. Is that even possible? Did some recessive gene decide to step up and dominate or something?'_ Shikamaru thought, "Hi" he greeted nervously.

"Hello again. It's nice to know your name now. I apologise on my brother's behalf for before and now" Gaara replied apologetically.

"Oh, it's no problem." Shikamaru held his hands up. _'At least I'm on one of the siblings good side. He talks so formally…is he really younger?'_.

"By the way...what do you mean before? Have you guys already met?" Temari asked.

"Yes, let's say we 'bumped heads' earlier on today" Gaara commented.

"Why are you guys here anyway?" Temari questioned.

"Can't we visit our cute little sister?" Kankuro asked sarcastically.

"Please don't call me cute" Temari grimaced.

"Oh, that's right! Someone very interesting came along with us today to visit you as well!" Kankuro had a massive smile on his face.

'_This can't be good...'_ Shikamaru thought looking at Kankuro's menacing smile

"Someone very interesting...?" Temari questioned

"Temari...?" a voice from behind called out

A shiver went down Temari's spine recognising the 'all-too-familiar' voice, _'No it can't be...'_

She turned around to face the one who said her name. "Hikaru?!" the man's name slipped out of her lips.

"You've grown pretty tall" Hikaru smiled going in to hug her.

Shikamaru stepped in between them with an arm spread out blocking off the hug.

There was a stalemate.

Shikamaru didn't know why he did it...but he did. This 'Hikaru' seemed to be the same one that Temari talked about at the hot springs when they were…uh…'accidentally watching' them. Some reason that made him angry.

There was a large gap of silence.

"SHIKAMARU, TEMARI! WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM!" Kiba yelled out running to them with Akamaru by his side.

All of their heads flicked to look at him.

"Oops...uh sorry for interrupting but we have an emergency. Temari, Shikamaru, why aren't you in the classroom yet?! Hurry up! We have to go! There's a problem amiss!" Kiba continued and grabbed their hands and dragged them away with three very confused boys staring at their backs.

"So what's the problem Kiba?" Shikamaru asked the frantic boy dragging him by the arm.

Temari was still in a daze.

"Well…the typical really…" Kiba answered

"What do you-" Shikamaru was interrupted by a siren.

Temari woke up from her daze to see a bright white van with a large red cross on it drive into the driveway.

"What's the ambulance doing here?" Temari wondered out loud.

"Tsk, not again…" Shikamaru frowned.

"What again?" Temari questioned

"Yep…again…" Kiba sighed.

"Is he ok?" Shikamaru asked Kiba ignoring Temari.

"Yeah, it's not too bad, but he can't perform" Kiba explained

"What?! Can't perform?!" Shikamaru yelled out in shock and annoyance.

"Ok I'm missing something here. Do any of you mind explaining?" Temari sort of hissed annoyed at the fact that she's being ignored.

"There's been a fight…again…" Shikamaru finally decided to answer the confused blonde.

"A FIGHT?! Between who?"

"You'll see…" Shikamaru grabbed the door to the classroom that they were meant to be in already.

Temari watched the door slide to see a very injured Sasuke on the other side.

Beads of sweat was running down his face, there were multiple tissues and clothe covered in blood surrounding him while he was sitting against the wall looking listless. Everyone was running around franticly, panicking around the room grabbing whatever supplies he or she could get their hands on as well as preparing for the play.

Sakura was treating his wounds as fast as she could, especially the gashes on his arms and legs.

A bandage was wrapped around his head, which was also soaked in blood.

Not to mention that he had so many bruises on his bruises that he was practically coloured blue.

'_If this is what they called 'not that bad', then I'm too afraid to know what IS bad!' _Temari thought to herself staring at the bustling room, _'I mean…Kankuro and Gaara have been in many fights themselves, but this is some major damage!'_

"Who…who did this to him?" Temari was almost too afraid to ask.

"It was-" Shikamaru was yet interrupted again by a noisy blonde.

"DAMNIT! HE RAN OFF AGAIN! THAT STUPID COWARDLY BASTARD!" Naruto screamed in frustration. He himself was covered in scars, but not nearly as bad as Sasuke's.

"Naruto, calm down! You have to let someone treat you!" Sakura told him off still treating Sasuke.

"No, not until I catch that frikin' weasel!" Naruto argued back.

"Weasel?" Temari questioned.

"Itachi. He's Sasuke's older brother" Shikamaru answered.

"His BROTHER did this to him?!" Temari gasped.

"Yeah. His brother is a total bastard. He's part of a large gang that calls themselves 'Akatsuki' full of really strong and dangerous people. It's best if you stay away from them. A long time ago when Sasuke was young, him and Itachi were really close…but…"

"But what?"

"One day, I don't know the full story, but as far as I know, Itachi…killed his, THEIR parents who were the leaders of the police corporation. Then he just went up and left straight afterwards leaving Sasuke all by himself"

Temari could hardly believe what she was hearing. No wonder why Sasuke's practically emotionless.

"And I thought my family was messed up…" Temari thought out loud

"Well, even though our group looks really bright and happy, all of our families are pretty messed up. I guess school's our refuge. Our group is like a safe little cage where we can hide away from all of our troubles…wow that sounded immensely lame…" Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"No, I get what you mean…I kinda feel the same. Though Kiba said that THIS is not that bad…so what do you recall as BAD? Or is it better if I don't know…?"

"Ah…well one time we had broken property, a collapsed building…as well as multiple fractures and broken bones the first time they clashed. I guess seeing this as a result shows that Sasuke and Naruto have probably gotten stronger…but it's still not enough"

"Is…uh, _Itachi_ THAT strong?"

"Strong is an understatement. He matches up to me in brains, exceeds Neji and Tenten put together in martial arts and physical ability as well as Naruto's and Lee's energy. He's not someone you mess around with…they're all like tat in the gang. Apparently the leader, 'Pain' is worse."

"It's a shame that someone that powerful uses his ability for no good…" Temari sighed

"It's not as if he was _always_ like that. He used to be kind and caring and the only thing he _really_ cared about was his little brother Sasuke, though looking at the situation now, it makes you want to rethink that idea…"

By this time, the paramedics stormed into the room with a stretcher carrying out the injured Sasuke into the van, as well as finishing treating Naruto who had no need of a hospital.

Naruto wanted to accompany Sasuke back to the hospital, but couldn't since everyone convinced him to stay behind to perform.

After a bit of a clean up, the room started to function as usual and everyone started to get dressed into their roles.

"What are we going to do without our princess Kakashi?" a student asked the silver-haired man.

Kakashi looked up from his book, "Shouldn't there be a replacement person who learnt everyone's roles?"

"Oh, that was Shikamaru" Ino blabbed.

Everyone stared at Shikamaru who was trying to escape the room secretly, but it was too late.

"Come on Shikamaru~ Come and try your costume…" Ino cooed with an evil look in her eye.

"God no! I'm going no where NEAR that dress..." Shikamaru quoted and started sprinting out the door.

Temari ran after him and caught up quickly and grabbed him by the back of his collar, "I…don't…think…so…" she grinned, "How can the play start with no princess? I'll need to save _someone_" she laughed evilly.

"Get Ino to do it! She always wanted the role, be nice and do her the favour!" Shikamaru panicked

Temari grinned devilishly, "You know that I was never the nice type" and dragged him back into the room to wear the dress.

"Troublesome woman…"

"It's good that you're the same size as Sasuke so not many adjustments were needed to be made to the dress" Hinata smiled while sewing up the hem a little.

"Mmm…yeah, great…" Shikamaru agreed sarcastically.

"Now, now…a princess shouldn't frown so dully…" Temari entered the room fully changed into her prince outfit. Her hair was out of its usual four pigtails and tied back into a low ponytail instead with a feather hat on top. She wore a purple long sleeve top with white puffy sleeves, a white collar, a gold necklace with a cross on it, black tights, black boots, a brown belt with a (fake) sword and a red cape. The typical 'prince' outfit.

The room hushed seeing her. It really suited her image. She was definitely bold enough to fit the role and carry out the clothes. Some of the girls in the room swooned by her mere charm.

"You should consider using some white eyeliner to open up and brighten those eyes of yours…mascara won't hurt either…" Temari suggested

"What?! Make up too?!" Shikamaru complained

"And a nice bow on your head" Temari started to laugh not being able to hold it in longer.

"Guys don't wear make up!" Shikamaru continued

"Yes, but princesses do~" Temari cooed

Shikamaru grimaced.

When Shikamaru was finished changing and the make up was applied, much to his displeasure, and the bow was added to his hair since a wig was not needed being so long as it was after releasing the hair tie, he genuinely looked like a princess.

He looked a bit more awkward than Sasuke did, though he was much better than anyone expected.

"Not bad if I say so myself!" Kiba grinned looking at Temari and Shikamaru.

"Doesn't really look out of place or anything" Tenten commented.

"Such a youthful appearance!" Lee yelled out

"I'm not sure if I should take those as compliments or insults…" Temari wondered.

"Sorry…" Hinata apologised for no reason.

* * *

"Hey everyone! Time to get moving! We're performing in five!" Neji called out to everyone, as they were moving around backstage.

Finally, Shikamaru walked on to the stage with Neji and Ino, who were the king and queen, and they started to speak their roles.

Shikamaru tried to ignore the fact that there was a massive audience full of people with large grins on their faces.

The girls squealed with excitement enjoying the eye candy in front of them.

It was highly embarrassing, but he had to do it.

'_I'm going to kill Sasuke after he's healed'_ he thought while saying his lines.

"Now my daughter, you are now 18 years old. No matter what, you must be careful" Neji majestically said.

"Yes Father" Shikamaru replied in a soft tone. He couldn't bring himself to speak with a girl's voice.

There were clear giggles in the audience.

Shikamaru tried his hardest to not turn red.

Afterwards, it was his solo scene where he pricks his finger on the needle.

He didn't really, but he had a hard time trying to find a way to fake it, but to look real.

He did eventually, and 'fainted' on to the floor.

Ino ran in screaming.

Neji gasped.

Then Tenten, Kiba and Sakura filed onto the stage with wands in their hands.

No one had really seen Kiba's costume until now…and they knew why.

His was pretty embarrassing with the fake, gold glittery fairy wings behind him, as well as the tights/leggings and loose sleeveless top covered in gold, shiny sequins and a crown on top of his head.

Everyone on stage tried to stifle a laugh.

Tenten and Sakura just wore simple, glittery dresses and wings.

'_Hinata definitely did not make that Kiba's. She can do a lot better, plus Kiba would've shown it off to please her'_ Shikamaru thought to himself.

Though the girls in the audience didn't seem to mind, enjoying seeing the 3 hotties on stage.

"The spell of the eternal slumber has been casted on the poor beauty!" Kiba cried out dramatically.

Then a puff of smoke appear on stage.

Out of it emerged Naruto laughing evilly, though it seemed too bright to be evil.

"Serves you right for not inviting me to her birthday!" he cackled.

The girls squealed yet again enjoying the show of another hot boy.

The show continued on.

Finally it came to the scene where Temari shows up to kiss the, uh, lovely maiden awake.

"Only true love's first kiss can break this spell laid on the poor damsel" Tenten quoted.

"True…love's…?" Temari murmured now bending down over Shikamaru.

The audience hushed anticipating the kiss that was about to be shown.

A few wolf whistles came from the audience, but they were quickly told off by fangirls immensely enjoying the show and getting lost in the moment.

'_Will she do it?' _Shikamaru thought and for some reason he felt himself going red, _'Why the hell am I going red? It's not like we haven't done it before; but still…in front of an audience?'_

'_Should I do it? I really should since it would make the scene more 'authentic' and it's not like we haven't done it before. I should actually be happy since many girls wish they were me at the moment being allowed to kiss Shikamaru. Gosh, the embarrassment though! Gaara, Kankuro and…and Hikaru are probably in the audience watching, that just wouldn't be appropriate!' _Temari's thoughts rushed through her head.

Shikamaru felt her face getting closer. Her warm breath smelt of mint as it drift into his nose. He resisted the urge to move closer himself since he was meant to be asleep. _'Dammit! Why is she taking so long?' _

Temari moved closer when their lips were about to touch and stopped.

Shikamaru felt his hormones going crazy inside his body. He started to sweat. Temari stopped at the most tempting spot with the 'near kiss'. The most exciting part about a kiss is the 'almost contact' stage, where your lips _almost_ touch; which is where Temari was at.

Shikamaru started to panic trying to resist the urge to move forward and kiss her.

He could feel her smiling.

'_Damn. The troublesome woman plays with me, even in moments like this'_

Soon after what felt like the longest moment ever, Temari pulled away and Shikamaru almost forgot that he was meant to open his eyes and say his lines.

Shikamaru got up and the play was continued.

* * *

Finally the curtains came down and it was the end of the play.

Temari took a deep breath and looked around, but she couldn't see Shikamaru anywhere.

She walked around back stage and then felt someone grab her arm forcefully pulling her into a room

She flicked her head around to see who it was.

It was Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru…why did you pull me in this room all of the sudden? You scared me!" Temari told him off.

But something was different about Shikamaru.

His eyes were glazed over with something unknown and he seemed to be breathless.

"Shikamaru…are you al-" Temari got cut off by Shikamaru's lips.

She squealed a bit at the unusual force.

Her heart was beating fast.

A bead of sweat fell down her face.

She could feel herself press against him.

He pressed her against the door.

Shikamaru was more aggressive then usual.

She would normally slap anyone who would do this…but she didn't want it to stop.

They continued until they had to come up for breath.

"Shi-Shika…" Temari couldn't make out any words. She was rendered speechless.

"This is what you get for teasing me on stage troublesome woman" Shikamaru grinned slyly.

'_So that was what brought along this new Shikamaru. I guess I was rather cruel'_ Temari pondered, "Maybe I should do it more often. I quite like this new Shikamaru"

Shikamaru grin grew even wider and he dove down and devoured her lips once again even more fired up by her words.

Temari giggled. It was so fun learning about Shikamaru's not-so-lazy self.

Shikamaru moved to her neck.

"Shika…" Temari said warningly.

He kissed the crook of her neck sending shivers down her spine.

"Don't-"

The door behind them suddenly flung open and they toppled out onto the floor.

"Well, well…isn't this suspicious?" Kiba grinned evilly seeing a Temari laying on top of Shikamaru awkwardly.

"Now what were you two lovers doing in the storage room huh?" Kiba questioned watching the couple get off the floor.

"This troublesome woman thought she might have left her phone in here while grabbing material for the play yesterday and forced me to help look for it" Shikamaru quickly blabbed out an explanation.

"FORCED you to?!" Temari yelled out playing along.

"Ok…" Kiba still wanted more answers, "so why is Shikamaru's lipstick smudged all over his face…and yours Temari?"

'_Shit!'_ Shikamaru swore to himself.

"The lipstick was itchy so we tried to rub it off. We had the same shade on…" Temari knew it didn't sound credible, but it had to do.

"Right, and pigs fly. What about you guys falling out the door?" Kiba's interrogation continued.

"The troublesome woman tripped as I was about to grab the door handle and fell on me, then you opened the door and we fell out" Shikamaru tried to explain making it up as he went on prepared for the fact he was going to ask this.

"Uh…huh…" Kiba didn't sound quite convinced.

"Temari, Shikamaru, y-you can change now" Hinata stuttered slightly

'_Phew, saved by Hinata' _they both thought.

They both rubbed their mouths while leaving the scene and Kiba behind as fast as possible.

There was a short silence as they walked.

"So what brought along the sudden urge to eat me Shikamaru?" Temari asked slyly.

"Punishment for playing with me on stage" Shikamaru replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Temari said sarcastically

"You know what I mean! I felt your smile tempting me"

"So you were tempted?"

"Shut up. Just admit you were playing around with me"

"Ok I admit it. But it was too hard to resist…and it obviously worked"

"I am going out with you aren't I? Isn't it normal for a guy?"

Temari laughed, "Fair enough. Though I really did enjoy the all-new 'aggressive' Shikamaru. So much fun…"

Shikamaru went bright red. "So you enjoy the thrill do you now? Would you like to try it again?" Shikamaru started to push Temari against the wall with a smirk playing up on his lips.

This time it was Temari's turn to turn red.

Shikamaru's face came closer to hers.

He paused, and then pulled away.

"Just kidding! Your face is bright red now" Shikamaru chuckled loudly.

Temari burned up even more and punched him.

"Ow, can't you take a-" Shikamaru got cut off by Temari's lips.

Temari pulled away instantly, "Who's more red now?" she laughed and walked off leaving a very stunned Shikamaru behind.

* * *

WOW

What an action packed chapter!

Well I hope you enjoyed my SUPER DELUXE DOUBLE CHAPTER!!

Take it as an apology for taking forever to update.

I know most of you know the story Sleeping Beauty, so I didn't think I needed to write out the whole play.

Was it good? Bad? Prefer shorter chapters?

Please give me your opinions and REVIEW :D

Also, right now I'm taking requests for a Christmas special which one lucky person will get so summarise it in your review, then I'll PM you if I'm interested and want more information.

Merry Christmas just in case I fail and update late again!

Thanks so much for having me for this long!

Chanel~

P.S. Ramune is a Japanese soft drink 'lemonade' that comes in many different flavours. I love it but to open it you have to push a marble down. Quite interesting; but hard at first. The trick is to use your palm and put the bottle on the floor.

Takoyaki is a floury, gluttonous ball with a piece of octopus inside. Normally has seaweed and something else as a seasoning as well as mayonnaise and some sort of special sauce.


	19. The Deer's Out Of The Bag!

I lose track of days easily when I'm on holiday so sorry about the late update!

I seriously have no idea what day or date it is at the moment, but I know it's been a while!

I thank those who were very patient and reviewed: ShikaTem Sand-Leaf; LadyRin98790; I Love Shy Girls; kyo's-kitten256; Watshi wa da D desu; orangepumpkins; XeniaKunoichi; MariLovesKristenStewart; bittersweet-temari; MsEvilbabe; Net-chan~; Sjorsie; Lupita; Anialis; Nati; Ree Nakada-chan; . .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.; Sacrificed Angel; LadyBella; tigers-and-dragons

I would have dropped this if it wasn't for you guys!

Anyway, no more beating around the bush, here we go!

One more thing answering what you guys asked…Hikaru was the guy that Temari had her first (and only besides Shika) crush on. She talked about him at the Hot Springs slumber party. Read back for further details.

* * *

'_How did this happen…?' _Temari thought to herself seeing her brothers, Hikaru, Shikamaru and the rest of the gang standing around her watching them.

'_This…is going to get really irritating…'_ Shikamaru cursed inside.

"Temari…?" Hikaru questioned.

'_I guess the cats out of the bag…'_

**A couple of hours beforehand**

"Hey Gaara…" Kankurou called out to his little brother.

"What is it Kankurou?" Gaara faced him wanting an answer.

"It's that Shiko…Shika…maro…?"

"Shikamaru Nara Kankurou! I expect you to memorise his name by now!" Gaara growled annoyed.

"Right, right…well what was with him before? He was protecting Temari like she was his property…you know what I mean?" Kankurou asked thinking back.

"Well Kankurou…technically we don't know what 'Shikamaru Nara' really '_is_" Gaara's eyes flicked open.

"What do you mean Gaara?" Kankurou questioned his words.

"All will be revealed soon my older brother" Gaara quoted and walked off.

"Hey, Gaara! Why can't you tell me now? Hey! Are you listening to me…?"

* * *

Shikamaru had finally gotten changed out of his dress and into some casual clothes.

He walked out to see everyone grouped up together.

Shikamaru walked up to them slightly curious on what's going on and why were they all so quiet.

He heard some murmurs.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Shikamaru asked

"Ssh!" everyone hushed him.

He then realised that they were surrounding someone's (looks like Naruto's being blue and orange) mobile that was placed on speaker.

"Sasuke Uchiha seems to be stable now. He is still short of blood and may need a donor just to make sure that he'll make it out of his condition, but we will determine that later because he is known to be a pretty fast healer and it may not be necessary" the person – assumingly a doctor – on the phone told the gang.

"Me and Sasuke have a compatible blood type!" Naruto called out to the phone.

"Yes, we are aware of that already Naruto Uzumaki after the multiple visits received by you two. I assure you that we will notify you if there's a need for blood and when you can visit him, but right now all he needs is rest" the doctor continued.

Shikamaru could see the Naruto was itching to see him.

"Alright, thank you doctor" Sakura ended and they hung up.

"Well, we already knew that he was ok since this time was much more tame and less damage was caused in the meantime" Kiba commented.

"How can you be so calm Kiba?! I was so worried about him" Ino slightly sobbed wiping her eyes.

"Oh stop crying Ino! You would cry even if he went there with a scraped knee. You are such a Drama Queen!" Kiba snarled.

"Oh EXCUSE ME! For being so worried about my friend! Maybe you could GROW A HEART KIBA!" Ino snapped

Akamaru barked loudly at her.

"Stupid bi-"

"Guys…that's enough…" Shikamaru called out cutting Kiba off.

Chouji tried to calm Ino down.

Temari watched not knowing what position she was in at the moment.

"Naruto, seriously I told you to be more careful!" Sakura told him off.

"Come on Sakura! All you go on about is to be 'careful' whenever this happens but THIS IS A FIGHT! There is no 'careful'. The word doesn't exist! We try to protect each other and fight him off but he's too bloody strong, especially with Kisame around to help." Naruto bit back for the first time.

"Well then stop fighting!" Sakura yelled out in frustration.

"IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE! It's like saying you're in the middle of the World War I and someone just runs into the middle of battle and cries out 'HEY! Let's stop fighting!' It's not like everyone's gonna drop their guns and be all 'ok' with it and just stop fighting and be friends. No, the reality is that that person isn't going to be heard amidst all of the yelling and crying and is gonna die!"

"I just don't want you guys to get hurt…"

"Sakura, you never do anything but stand there and complain and lecture and place blame on others. We're already scarred from the fight and your rubbing salt on our wounds. Your words mean and do nothing. We already know your worried and don't want us to get hurt, but seriously. It's enough already." Naruto explained

"But…I'm just trying to hel-"

"What? Help?" Naruto cut her off

Sakura stood there not uttering a word.

"Stop trying to help. This isn't your fight. You know nothing about it and you know nothing about _this_ me and Sasuke. You know absolutely nothing except for the fact me and Sasuke are fighting Itachi. Don't try to make this your fight. Don't place yourself somewhere you don't belong. Butt out!" Naruto blurted out cruelly.

Sakura froze. The bottom of her lip quivered. Tears formed in her eyes.

She ran out of the room.

"That was too much Naruto!" Ino ran off after Sakura.

The room was silent.

Naruto looked at the floor sullenly.

"It's ok Naruto. We all know that this is your fight and that we won't get involved unless we have to. You are the only one who can help Sasuke fight against his brother and family issues" Neji commented placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder assuringly.

"Yeah man! Sakura wouldn't accept that so that was the only method that would get through to her." Kiba comforted putting his arm around his shoulders playfully.

"They will eventually get over it and understand your intentions. Just give them time" Chouji joined in.

"I-It'll be alright Naruto" Hinata smiled.

Lee gave his 'good guy' grin.

Tenten stood next to Neji and smiled with concern.

Shikamaru grinned.

Temari didn't understand anything. She thought that after Naruto and Sakura's spat, everyone would be at each other's necks blaming each other for the outburst and telling Naruto off for making Sakura cry, but they didn't.

They are actually comforting him.

The level of understanding was much deeper than Temari could ever imagine or understand.

Shikamaru saw that's she was confused.

He laughed.

He walked up to her.

"What's with that look on your face Temari?" Shikamaru chuckled a bit.

Temari changed her expression instantly to an annoyed one, "What look?"

"Meh, you just look…troubled?"

Temari's expression softened, "Its just that you guys have such a great…I dunno…bond? I guess I just don't really understand what's happening…"

Shikamaru looked at her, "Well you are the new exchange student. Don't try to absorb everything too fast otherwise you'll explode. A lot happens in this gang, especially to Naruto and Sasuke"

"Isn't this normally all 'too troublesome' to you?" Temari smirked

"Yeah, well…they're my friends and sometimes it can be worth the trouble"

Temari was a little shocked at the response, but stayed silent.

"Come on, let's get out of this stuffy classroom…" Shikamaru walked out of the room beckoning Temari to follow.

'_Shikamaru's probably right…I shouldn't try to absorb all of this in at once. Too much does happen to this gang. I thought I was the only one…' _Temari thought to herself.

"Oi! Troublesome woman! You listening?" Shikamaru called out to the dazed Temari.

"Huh?" Temari answered back.

"I asked what you want to do next."

'Hmm…I'm really thirsty after that play, lets go get drinks and sit somewhere so people can't find us…"

Temari could see Shikamaru's face going red.

"I meant to hide away from the embarrassment that play brought us! Not anything else!" Temai freaked a little.

"Anything…else?" Shikamaru questioned raising an eyebrow.

'_Great…now I'm making a total fool out of myself'_ Temari cursed inside her mind.

"How's green tea?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari just realised that they were already at a drink booth.

"Yeah, that's fine"

Shikamaru paid.

"No, wait I'll pay for mine" Temari commented

"It's ok…it'll just be more troublesome for the person serving us" Shikamaru sighed

"But I want to pay for myself!"

"It's alright, you don't have to"

"I can take care of myself you know!"

"I know!" Shikamaru yelled out

A few people were now staring at them.

The couple's faces flushed and they walked off acting cool down to a quiet shady area.

"Ugh…so much for avoiding embarrassment…" Temari groaned

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru quoted and started to lean back and lay down on the grass.

Temari followed and they both just stared up watching the clouds.

"You know, I still prefer stars" Temari mentioned while looking up at the clouds

"Stars just stay in one place and don't move. Clouds have more freedom…" Shikamaru's gaze didn't move from the fluffy white objects in the sky.

"But stars have more light and stand out boldly. Prettier too. Where I am, clouds don't come around much like they do here…"

"Eh? How dull"

"Your dull"

"Doesn't mean I have to be in a place equally as dull"

The couple squabbled for a bit and laughed it off.

"Come on, let's start moving again…I want to see everything else before the festival ends" Temari sat back up and started to stand.

"Aww" Shikamaru complained, "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you have to"

"But I don't want to"

"Don't make me force you"

"How can you really _force_ me to?"

Oh how Shikamaru regretted saying this.

Temari stood up straight, bent her knee and kicked hard at Shikamaru's ribs.

"Ouch!" Shikamaru cried in pain.

"You willing to move now?" Temari asked getting ready for another kick.

"Funny enough, I had a strange urge to follow you just now" Shikamaru replied sarcastically and stood up.

Temari grinned and started pulling along Shikamaru by the arm into the main building hallway.

They fooled around a bit and Temari gave a playful punch.

They stopped while being face by Gaara and Kankurou.

"Ah! Gaara, Kankurou! What's up? Enjoying the festival?" Temari asked a little nervously letting go of Shikamaru's arm quickly.

Not quick enough.

"Oi, Shika…what ever your name is! Lovely dress you had on, why did you take it off?" Kankurou asked in a smart-alec tone

"It's Shikamaru, and I don't like the dress personally, but you are welcomed to try it on"

Gaara grinned.

Temari giggled though wondered what was up with Shikamaru doing something very 'troublesome'.

Shikamaru figured that if he couldn't get along with Kankurou politely, maybe they could just get along by not getting along…if that makes sense.

"You think you're so smart huh?" Kankurou took a strong step forward.

Shikamaru didn't flinch.

'_Now that I think of it…I've never seen Shikamaru fight before. He looks a little scrawny so he probably won't have much of a chance with Kankurou, not that I want to find out….' _Temari thought

"Let me wipe that smug look off your face" Kankurou went in for a punch

"KANKUROU!" Temari told him off embracing for the worse.

But she peeked open one eye and saw Shikamaru's fist almost in contact with Kankurou's stomach and Kankurou was practically frozen on the spot with his fist still in midair.

"Wh-what happened?" Temari questioned

"Well…" Gaara started trying to fill Temari in, "Kankurou went in for a punch at Nara stupidly and then Nara ducked and quickly stepped forward moving his fist towards Kankurou's stomach; but since he has self control unlike our idiotic brother, he stopped just before contact leaving Kankurou in a stunned, paralysed state"

"Did you have to add in idiotic?" Kankurou whined.

"The position your in is your own responsibility Kankurou. Now I hope you will start behaving yourself" Gaara quoted in a responsible tone.

Shikamaru stood back up and straightened himself.

Temari ran up to Kankurou and landed a punch under his chin giving him an uppercut.

Kankurou flew up and landed on the floor, "Ouch Temari! What was that for?"

"I'm not so forgiving" Temari stared down at him.

"Well, isn't this a nice family reunion?" A voice came out of nowhere said.

They all turned to see the man named 'Hikaru'.

"What? Family?" Sakura questioned.

Now the whole gang was there.

"What? You're all related?" Kiba asked.

"Uh, yeah…this is Kankurou and Gaara…my brothers…" Temari replied.

"Ah! No way! Nice to meet you!" Ino ran up to them and gave them a handshake

Gaara looked at the hand awkwardly and took it.

Kankurou gave a weird look but took it as well.

"Oh! Who's this guy?" Ino asked loudly, clearly interested.

Temari could tell that the girls were all thinking the same thing.

Hikaru had turned pretty good-looking in the time she hadn't seen him.

Temari looked at the girls passing by and saw that they all had hearts in there eyes.

Never had there been so much eye-candy at once; after all the hot five was there too.

"Hello, my name is Hikaru. I'm a good family-friend of Temari, Gaara and Kankurou. It's very nice to meet you all" Hikaru replied swiftly to Ino's response.

Ino swooned.

"No way! You're Hik-" Tenten's mouth got covered by Neji's hand knowing that saying this would only cause unnecessary problems.

Shikamaru clenched his teeth.

"Temari, it's been so long since I last saw you. I see you've been well" Hikaru continued to talk not noticing Tenten.

Temari looked down a little bit, "Yeah, I have been".

Hikaru then turned to Shikamaru, "Sorry for the passing hug earlier. I didn't realise you were Temari's boyfriend-"

"BOYFRIEND?!!" Everyone yelled out at once besides Gaara, Temari, Naruto and Shikamaru.

'_How did this happen…?' _Temari thought to herself seeing her brothers, Hikaru, Shikamaru and the rest of the gang standing around staring at her and Shikamaru.

'_This…is going to get really troublesome…'_ Shikamaru cursed inside.

"Temari…?" Hikaru questioned.

'_I guess the cats out of the bag…'_

"Why did I not hear of this?!" Ino yelled out

"Wait Ino, we haven't heard from them" Sakura held her back and looked at Temari and Shikamaru directly.

Shikamaru sighed giving in, "It's true"

"WHAT?!!" everyone responded yet again.

"Why didn't you guys tell us?" Tenten asked and the girl's interrogation began.

Temari and Shikamaru stayed silent.

Hikaru looked a tad stunned.

Kankurou was practically outraged.

Shikamaru gave a pleading look at the guys, but they stood back giving a 'we're not getting involved' look.

The noise came to a stop when a sound of a ringtone came in.

Naruto shuffled his pockets and brought out his mobile, "Hello?"

"Hello Mr. Uzumaki. This is a nurse from Konoha Hospital and I would just like to inform you that Sasuke is awake and well and is allowed to see visitors now" the person over the phone replied.

There was a clear pause.

"Hello?" The nurse called out

"Thank you nurse. We are on our way" Naruto hung up and before you could blink, the whole gang besides Shikamaru and Temari was out of the door.

"What a strange group of friends you have" Gaara noted staring at the swinging door.

"Well…I guess we should get going too Temari…" Shikamaru commented, _'For once Sasuke actually saved me…'_

"Uh, yeah we should see how he is" Temari agreed and was about to walk off until Hikaru grabbed her arm.

Shikamaru shot him a look.

Gaara stood back silently and watched the show.

Kankurou was still stun after the turn of events.

"What is it Hikaru?" Temari felt a little bit flustered.

"It's been a while since we last saw each other, don't you reckon we should catch up"

"Um…well, I do need to see my friend though; after all he is in hospital…"

"It won't be long, I just need to talk to you" Hikaru gazed at Shikamaru

Shikamaru looked back at him and then looked away.

"Shikamaru…?" Temari looked at Shikamaru.

She didn't know why she felt that she needed to ask him, but she did.

Shikamaru looked at her, then Hikaru, then back at her and sighed giving Temari a reassuring 'I trust you enough' look.

Temari gave a 'frowning smile' and nodded her head to Hikaru, "Sure, lets catch up for old times sake".

Hikaru's face lit up, "Then lets go!"

He grabbed her hand and dragged her away.

Gaara looked at Shikamaru, "You sure about this?"

Shikamaru tore his eyes off Temari and looked back at Gaara, "What do you mean?"

"Don't underestimate him Shikamaru, he's quite the smooth talker" Kankurou answered for Gaara

"That's alright. Temari's not the type to just fall for a few simple words. I know that much. It's her choice really…"

The brothers grinned at Shikamaru.

"Look Nara, just because you're going out with my sister, doesn't mean I accept you…got it?" Kankurou mentioned making himself clear.

Shikamaru grinned, "That's ok. The fact you now remember my name is enough".

* * *

ARGH!

One thousand apologies for how late this is!!

I don't even know the date anymore.

Ok, I'll set my alarm to start working on the next one and hopefully do it by the week.

Omg I still haven't done school homework!

Ugh…

Well I hope you all have a nice holiday.

Thanks for who ever sent Birthday wishes (1st of Jan)

Sorry I ditched the idea about a Christmas oneshot being way past Christmas.

I'll make sure next year to ask a month earier~

Chanel~


	20. Truths Revealed

Hmm…well I guess schools about to start again for me.

Sigh, depressing…but at least I will now know what day it is o_O

Anyway, WOOP CHAPTER 20!!!

I'll try to answer questions asked at the end.

There will be a bit more drama now, but not the annoying type…

The INTENSE TYPE! *fire aura burning*

Thanks to those who reviewed: MsEvilBabe; Watshi wad a D desu; orangepumpkins; Equally Me; Lupita; bittersweet-temari; MariLovesKristenStewart; Sjorsie; idoenjoyanime; Raikozu21; snorlax baby (:; ShikaTem Sand-Leaf; the girl in your closet; LadyBella; shinigamigirl196; vuhnehsah; tigers-and-dragons; Net-chan

You remind me to keep updating!

Any who~ Lets move on.

P.S. Just watched Kateikyo Hitman Reborn and Lal and Colonello are my new favourite pairing :D

Review if you agree…or just like my chapter enough :P

* * *

"Hikaru?!" Temari yelled out to the man dragging her arm around the school, "Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere I can talk to you privately" Hikaru replied seriously.

Temari said no more.

They continued to run until they finally found a place to rest.

Temari collapsed onto the ground breathing heavily.

_'Since when did he get so fast? His hands…they're so big now'_ she thought.

"Temari" Hikaru looked at her seriously.

Temari gazed back into his eyes.

_'His eyes are so serious and stern. I can't read him anymore. What happened to the Hikaru from a few years back? Clumsy Hikaru…'_

"Temari…do you remember what you used to call me back when we used to see each other a lot?" He asked.

Temari paused, "Yeah, 'Clumsy Hikaru' I recall".

"That's right. Back then I use to be so clumsy. Always falling over, dropping things, breaking things. I always needed you to protect me from things that scared me; like the neighbours dog"

Temari laughed, "I remember Rolo. You really were scared of him"

"Well I wanted to tell you that in the time I haven't seen you, I've been trying to get stronger. I aimed to become less clumsy and able to stand up for myself. I wanted to become stronger…"

"Hikaru…"

Hikaru shook his head, "I needed to become stronger so I can stand up for myself without needing any longer. It's my responsibility. Also, I've been wanting to tell you all this time…"

I snapping sound broke through.

Hikaru looked around and saw nothing, just to realise it was Temari.

She had snapped slightly, "BULL SHIT!"

Hikaru took a step back not being used to her sharp tongue.

"'Always been _wanting_ to tell me' huh? DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME! I haven't even HEARD from you for two WHOLE YEARS. Not even a single usual Christmas card and you're telling me that you've been wanting too tell me something?! You could've disappeared off the face of the Earth and I wouldn't have known!"

Silence came after Temari's outburst.

_'Shit, that was harsh. Hikaru hasn't seen me like this before. Damnit! I need to learn self-control more…' _Temari thoughts got cut off by hearing a chuckle.

She realised that Hikaru was laughing.

"Wh-What's so funny?" she questioned feeling herself blush a bit.

"So-Sorry" Hikaru tried to manage to say in between laughs, "It's just that, I've never seen you like this before. I thought it was very cute" he continued to laugh

Temari was speechless, _'Cute? Is this guy mad?!'_

"Yes, I even accept this new part of you" Hikaru slightly murmured.

_'Here it comes'_ Temari embraced herself.

"I just wanted to reveal everything to you. No more secrets"

Temari looked down.

"I know I have to make up for everything and a way to start is to tell you directly" he continued.

Temari started to shuffle her feet.

"I would've told you via email or through a letter, but I know it would only be right to tell you face to face"

Temari twiddled her thumbs.

"Even though it's been a while and changes have happened, I have to come to terms and accepted that, so Temari…"

Temari squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for those three words…

"I am gay"

…

Not those three words.

"What?!!" Temari screamed out alarmed flicking her eyes open and looking up. _'Did I hear that right?'_

Taken back a little bit yet again, Hikaru took a step back, "Ye-yes, you have heard correctly".

Temari couldn't believe her ears. This was not what she was expecting, "B-But…I thought…I mean…why go through all the trouble of taking me away in private saying all the 'I've been meaning to tell you this' crap"

"Well, it was because…remember when we were young and I gave you a kiss goodbye before I had to leave?"

"Yeah…" she felt a little bit embarrassing.

"I thought that I had to own up for that, therefore needed to tell you"

"What?! You were gay then?"

"No, I didn't realise until much later, but still; I took your very first kiss away from you without your consent and didn't even follow through with it 'til the end. It's a very despicable act that I thought I had to take responsibility for; which is what I'm doing now" Hikaru started to get fired up.

Yes, Temari was rendered totally speechless.

"Temari? Are you ok? Your kind of pale…" Hikaru looked at her concerned.

"Ah! Y-Yeah…I'm fine, I'm fine!" she stuttered a reply.

"I understand if you don't accept this. It's is very sudden and I also did something so unforgivable…"

_'What's with him? Is he really from this time? He acts like he's from 100 years ago with all of this 'first kiss' stuff'_ Temari pondered.

"No, no! It's nothing like that! I'm totally fine with it and don't worry about the first kiss and everything; it's really ok! It doesn't matter now. It was a long time ago!" Temari explained in a very jostling tone.

"Te-Temari…"

"Huh?"

"Oh Temari you are ever so forgiving!" he cried out loud holding both of her hands together, "How could I ever not put more effort in keeping in contact with you! Even after so long, you have forgiven me so easily. I definitely owe you one!" Tears were forming in his eyes of joy.

_'Wh-What happened to the smooth Hikaru from before?"_

"Well, I can't hold you back any longer! You must hurry along to see your friend in hospital now. Please go. Do not worry about me."

"Uh, ok..well I'll talk to you soon ok Hikaru?" Temari started to run along back to Shikamaru

"Of course my dear Temari. Goodbye. Say hello and give my apologies to Shikamaru. I hope you two have a bright future ahead of you" Hikaru waved with large arm motions.

Temari smiled. _'Well that explained his incredible taste in fashion'_

"A question before you go Temari!" He called out hastily

"Yeah?"

"Why do you like him?"

Temari thought for a bit, "I guess it's because it's fun to be a troublesome woman" and left.

* * *

Temari had finally gone back to where Shikamaru was, but only to see Shikamaru not being there and only Gaara and Kankurou.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Temari asked them.

Gaara handed over a piece of paper and a couple of $20 notes, "Shikamaru told me to hand this over to you. The piece of paper is a map that Shikamaru drew to show you how to get to the hospital. He got a phone call and needed to go over there first ahead of you. Also, the money is for a taxi ride if you didn't want to walk"

"Psh! I don't want to owe him anything! I'm not that lazy!" Temari pouted.

"Shikamaru told us you would say that, but Kankurou insisted on him doing it anyway telling him to not be a 'tight ass' I might have recalled. Sad to hear a man that has known Temari for only a few months understanding her better than her own brother" Gaara shook his head in disappointment.

"I was only being cautious! It's not like we're losing anything if she decided to walk!" Kankurou tried to explain himself.

Temari looked at the drawn map. It was drawn really well as to be expected of Shikamaru. She understood where to go, "Ok, well I guess I'm off! I'll call you guys when I get back".

"Wait, what did Hikaru want to tell you?" Kankurou asked.

"I'll tell you later, actually he might tell you himself" she ran off.

Kankurou and Gaara looked at each other very confused.

* * *

Temari started heading towards the hospital everyone was at.

She stopped at a corner and opened up the piece of paper to see which direction to go next.

"Hey there good-looking" a man's voice was heard.

Temari ignored it as if she didn't hear it and continued to scan the map.

"I'm talking to you. The spunky looking blondie over at the corner reading a piece of paper" It continued.

Temari could no longer ignore it and looked over to see where the voice was coming from.

Behind her was a man, maybe a couple years older than her, leaning against a wall. He had platinum blonde hair which was slicked back with a tonne of hair gel, casual rugged clothes that used to be a school uniform resembling her own, purple coloured eyes (obviously coloured contacts), a cocky smile, wearing a black sweat wristband with red clouds on it, a ring and a silver beaded necklace with a circle pendant with a triangle in it.

A 'dangerous stud' Ino would probably call him.

"I haven't got all day, what is it?" Temari hissed.

"Whoa, whoa babe. Calm down I just wanna talk. Names Hidan. Want me to show you a good time?" he stuck his tongue out creepily.

_'What a typical 'creep pick up line'. _"Yeah right! Move along, I haven't got time for you" Temari turn away.

"Wait! What's your name missy?"

Temari started to get irritated, "None of your business and don't call me babe or missy"

He laughed, "No need to be like that".

He started to walk up to her strutting along the way.

And…

Tripped landing face first.

Temari laughed menacingly, "Oh yeah, real smooth"

"Shut the hell up bitch!" He got up straight away with a little scratch on his nose.

Temari noticed no blood or broken bones which was a bit odd.

"Look, I have somewhere to be…"

"Oh no you don't! Not after laughing and insulting me like that!" he snapped grabbing her arm.

"Let go of me you jerk!" Temari tried to tug her arm away, but he didn't loosen his grip.

He was stronger.

Much stronger than she thought.

_'Damnit, no time to be getting cold feet'_ she cursed in her mind, yet showed no signs of panic.

"I guess I'm gonna show you a good time anyway" he grinned scarily.

"Stay away from me or I swear…"

"Swear WHAT?" Hidan questioned.

There was a glint of fear in Temari's eyes, but she shook it away quickly.

"I swear I'll…"

"Oi! What's going on here?" another voice came out of no where.

_'If voices keep popping up like this, I'm going to get a hard attack'_

"Well…if it isn't Mr. Student Detective Policeman coming to the rescue…" Hidan grinned.

_'Mr…what?'_ Temari turned to see who it is.

It was no other than Shikamaru.

"Shika-maru…?" Temari questioned.

"Temari?! Hidan let go of her" Shikamaru glared menacingly at Hidan.

Hidan smiled and let go of Temari's arm, "What ever you say"

There was an imprint of his hand on her arm.

She didn't even realise how tight he was holding onto her.

Temari backed off and swiftly walked to Shikamaru.

"Are you ok?" Shikamaru looked at her concerned.

Temari nodded her head. Some reason no word could come out of her mouth.

"So this is your girl I suspect Shika-man. You've got good taste I must say" Hidan complemented cockily.

"You better have not done anything to her" Shikamaru steamed.

Temari had never seen him so worked up; and what was with his nickname Hidan gave him?

"No man! Just having a friendly chat. Clearing up a misunderstanding. It's all good, after all, why mess with the detective's and chief policeman's daughter's son's girl?" he continued to grin.

Shikamaru's glare didn't lift off.

_'Detective and Chief Policeman's daughter's son?!' _Temari wondered a bit stunned

"Hey Hidan. You're not causing trouble again are you? I'm not bailing you again" yet another voice came up.

_'Of course, another anonymous voice pops up'_

"Nah man Kakuzu. Just having a friendly chat y'know" Hidan explained himself.

"I don't care what it is unless it doesn't concern my money because I know your flat broke" 'Kakuzu' replied.

Temari looked at 'Kakuzu'. He had green eyes, same uniform but not so damaged, he had multiple stitches, the same black wristband with red clouds, a ring, a bandanna covering his mouth and nose and a briefcase.

"Shikamaru, I hope Hidan hasn't caused any trouble" Kakuzu hoped.

"He hasn't, but that may have changed if I came a little later" Shikamaru replied still glaring at Hidan.

"Why don't you guys trust me?" Hidan whined.

Everyone looked at him sceptically.

"Oh come on Kakuzu! Not you too!" Hidan complained

Kakuzu looked away, "Come on, lets go. Leader called a meeting today"

Hidan looked at Shikamaru, then Temari, "Tch! What ever, lets lose this joint" and followed Kakuzu walking away.

"Who were they?" Temari asked the now calmer Shikamaru

Shikamaru looked at Temari, "Be careful. Remember the gang called 'Akatsuki' I told you about that have Sasuke's brother Itachi in it?"

"I remember…"

"Well those two are also in it. Notice the sweat wristbands? All members have one. They are all unbelievably strong and dangerous so it would be best if you stay away from them. Why were you talking to HIdan anyway?"

"Meh, he tried to make a move on me"

Shikamaru's eyes widen, "You can't just _meh_ that thought Temari! Hidan is the sickest one of all and really corrupt in a way. Not to mention really strong. Nothing you do seem to hurt him, he just laughs it off. Please, just stay away from all of them no matter what. I'm not always going to be around…"

Temari opened her mouth to argue saying that she didn't need his protection, but the look in his eyes made her stop, "Ok, I'll stay away. It's not like I wanted him to talk to me anyway. He's just really hard to ignore"

Shikamaru grinned, "Do your best"

"Heh, if you can block Kankurou out, you can block anyone"

They both laughed and started walking towards the hospital again.

"Hey, why didn't you mention that your dad's a detective and your mum's the chief policeman's daughter? What happened to making medicine and stuff?" Temari questioned remembering what Hidan had said.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?"

"No, you just mentioned deers and medicine"

"Ah, right must have forgotten"

"HOW CAN YOU FORGET SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!" Temari said a bit louder then she had meant to.

"Eh, it's not a big deal. My dad's a detective and I help him out in some cases sometimes, including the one that put Hidan in jail, and my grandfather is the chief of the police force. Although, my mother isn't interested, therefore she stuck to science and creates medicine instead. End of story"

_'Explains how he can fight so well to leave Kankurou shaking in his shoes'_

"So you do detective work as well"

"Yeah, when my dad gets a really difficult case, I tend to help out. That's the only time when I'm bothered. Small cases are just too troublesome to deal with."

"Right…so why did you have go ahead first?"

"Oh, I had to sign a few forms for Naruto to give permission to do such and such. Signing papers is really troublesome"

"Why do you have to sign a few forms for Naruto?"

Shikamaru looked at Temari, "You're full of questions today aren't you?"

"I guess I am" Temari looked back

Shikamaru sighed, "Well it's because I'm sort of Naruto's 'guardian' in many ways"

"You're his _guardian_!!" Temari tried to keep her voice down a bit.

"Yeah, it's because our family is watching over him since he's an orphan and all; and since my mum and dad don't have the time to keep up with Naruto, which believe me, it's difficult, I have also got the rights to sign forms and such as Naruto's guardian or supervisor"

"B-But you're the same age and everything. How could you possibly be…?"

"There are a lot of advantages when your family plays a big role in the police. It's like how you had a lot of privileges being the daughter of the principal"

Temari looked back remembering all of the classes she could skip and how the teacher never could really lecture her and such, "That's different though. One's school and the other's law! You can't compare!"

"In the end Temari, law is pretty much like high school. The higher you sit up, the better your life is"

Temari was a bit gobsmacked at this answer, but decided to keep her mouth shut.

They continued to walk the rest of the way in silence, "Well, we're here"

Shikamaru lead the way and a lot of nurses lowered their heads as if to bow when he walked by.

Shikamaru would just smile politely during this.

A couple of the younger nurses even went as far as winking.

_'For petes sake! This is a hospital, not a playground'_ Temari thought to herself watching a few of the girls in the waiting room giggle and squeal to themselves seeing Shikamaru walk by.

"Uh, you ok Temari? You seem kind of tense…" Shikamaru questioned looking at Temari really closely.

Temari tried not to flush, _'He probably doesn't even notice anymore'_, "Yeah, I'm fine"

Shikamaru looked at her a little concerned and then notice the couple of squealing girls. He grinned and took her handing leading her along the rest of the way.

Temari looked at there linked hands. It was as if he knew what was annoying her.

"You know that's nothing. If I was Sasuke, we would've been attacked right now" Shikamaru quoted.

"What? I wasn't…"

"Never mind" Shikamaru cut her off.

They continued to walk and finally stopped at a private room.

They let each others hands go and walked in.

It was a very spacious room all clean with only Sasuke and the gang in it as well as his own bathroom.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty, how are you feeling?" Shikamaru asked Sasuke walking up to him.

He looked at Narut's face. There was a bit of concern, but otherwise alright; so there doesn't seem to be anything all that life threatening.

"What ever" Sasuke replied.

"Oh I'm so glad you're ok Sasuke~" Ino cooed sounding like she was about to sob.

Sasuke looked at him worried, but nodded her head in relief.

"Wow this is a really swish room for a hospital…" Temari whispered to Shikamaru.

"Yeah it's a private room. Sasuke doesn't deal well with crowds"

"Why's that?"

"Well if there's a girl, they tend to attack him at night and annoy him and when there are guys, they tend to be too noisy for him and half the time want to pick a fight with him due to him not wanting to socialise, therefore being cocky"

"Some how, I don't doubt that"

"Only male nurses are allowed to look after him as well"

"Geez, Sasuke really is too good looking for his own good"

They all continued to talk to one another until Sasuke spoke.

"Shikamaru" he started.

Shikamaru looked at the Sasuke with only one gauze on his cheek and a bandage wrapped around his forehead.

"Me, Naruto, we want…we want to…" Sasuke tried to find the right words.

"You want to end this?" Shikamaru finished his sentence.

"Yes, but we can't do that with your consent. I was originally thinking of hiding this from you, but it's impossible. With knucklehead here, you'll eventually figure it out, so it was best to talk to you"

Shikamaru looked at him seriously.

Sasuke looked at him seriously back.

Naruto looked down at his feet.

There was a stalemate.

"I'll have to think about it"

"What?! But…" Naurto opened his mouth to argue.

"There's no rush here. Sasuke's still healing so even if I gave my answer now, you couldn't do anything. Until Sasuke, and you as a matter of fact, are fully healed, I won't give my answer"

Sasuke pouted for a bit, and then grinned, "Fine, as you like Shikamaru"

"S-Sasuke!" Naruto opened his mouth.

Shikamaru grinned back, "Well then, get well soon"

"If Shikamaru does happen to say yes, then you have to count me in!" Kiba commented.

"Yes! We have to stick together as a team to stay youthful and finish it together!" Lee yelled out in joy.

Neji nodded as if to say 'me too'.

"But, you guys can't-" Naruto tried to argue.

"This is all of our battle now Naruto" Chouji cut him off.

"I know you guys just want to fight Itachi, but to get to Itachi, someone has to fight off the rest of the members" Neji agreed

"Y-You guys…" Naruto looked like he was about to tear up.

"Well get well first and we'll figure out details later" Shikamaru replied.

"D-Does that mean a yes Shikamaru?" Sasuke questioned.

"A definite answer will come afterwards" Shikamaru smiled and walked out of the room.

Temari followed him, "So, what are you going to do now?"

Shikamaru kept walking, "I guess I have to start making plans".

* * *

Ok. Time to clear some things up.

I was originally going to make a love triangle including Hikaru, but I've decided that I wanted KH to be an easy reading fanfic with a few gripping moments.

To tell you the truth, I hate love triangles a lot of the time because you always tend to favour one and think the girl is stupid if they chose the other.

And Temari isn't stupid. Neither is she the irrational type like the other typical shoujo girls.

Also, since Shikamaru and Temari are already together, it would be strange to have a love triangle don't cha reckon?

Normally all of the people in it have to be single and two get together; but since two have already gotten together, it isn't really going to work.

Then I thought of Temari just brushing Hikaru off, but nah I felt bad for Hikaru and Temari wouldn't do that to a childhood friend.

So sorry to those who like love triangles, but they don't make things easy to read and half the time I want to punch the screen.

Ok, so now that that's cleared (I hope) as for how long these series of chapters are going to be…I don't know.

I have no particular number but it isn't going to be any time soon.

As for my other story The Playful Argument etc. I've drawn blank on it, so when I've completed KH, I will go back to working on it.

Sorry for my lack of humour in some chapters, but unfortunately I want some intense moments, therefore less humour.

I hope this chapter has humoured you a bit more :D

I had trouble describing Hidan I must say.

The colour of his eyes I had always questioned.

Are they pink, purple, maybe brown, magenta?

I stuck with purple anyway.

Also his hair is like grey/silver; but since this is modern time, that can't be allowed (unless it's Kakashi because he's smexy :P) so I settled with platinum blonde.

Sorry about no Christmas Special, I just haven't found the time to write :O

I will attempt Valentines, but I can't guarantee anything since Valentines is a very sappy lovey-dovey time and well…I can't do that all that well in writing without felling totally embarrassed…

Ah well, I hope this clears some things up

If you really want me to attempt it, I can try to tackle it XD

Looking forward to any of your reviews and answering anything else.; also your responses.

Much Love

Chanel~


	21. Crossed Paths of the Two Gangs

OK so another chapter begins!

Thanks to those who have reviewed: XeniaKunoichi; MariLovesKristenStewart; miss Kaitlin inuzuka; LadyBella; Watshi wad a D desu; Temari4689; Lupita; MsEvilbabe; bittersweet-temari; Temari93; Equally Me; the girl in your closet; idoenjoyanime; Sjorsie; Squishy!; Colettee. =); ShikaTem Sand-Leaf

I love you all so much!

Thanks for helping me reach (and surpass) 350 reviews!

You guys are just a bundle of joy ^_^

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Temari sighed a long sigh while tuning out of Biology class.

Who gave a crap about 'cell structure and theory' anyway?

School has been normal lately.

Well as far as normal can get for Konoha High anyway.

Sasuke got discharged from hospital today and barely escaped his room; which was flooded with 'Get Well Soon' gifts and flowers.

The bell rang and Temari exited the room with Tenten back to the lockers.

They watched Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba, Lee, Hinata and Sakura staring at Sasuke's locker door.

"What's with everyone staring at Sasuke's door?" Temari asked while walking up to the gang.

"Are you all ready?" Naruto looked revved up.

"To experience such youth is surely a great honour!" Lee quoted youth as per usual.

Ino came up to them all, "Oh thank god I didn't miss this! I would've died. Stupid Kakashi had to be late again and lagged the class for too long!"

"It never ceases to amaze me when ever I see this" Neji said coming from behind

"Dude, I claim at least a quarter!" Kiba called out

"N-No Kiba, it's not our decision…" Hinata stuttered

"Well let's get this over and done with already! I'm getting impatient!" Tenten cried

"Ok I'm ready!" Sakura commented.

"What's is everyone talking about?" Temari questioned

"Just stand back and watch" Shikamaru replied calmly from behind her pulling her back a little further.

Temari looked back at him a bit shocked since she didn't feel his presence, but stayed quiet and backed away looking at Sasuke's locker intently.

Temari saw Chouji run for the first time up to them.

Sasuke grabbed his combination lock and started to enter his code.

As he slowly turned the wheel, they all looked at it intently with anticipation.

It felt like weeks have passed when he had finally finish his code and pulled on the lock with a click.

He slowly turned the handle and…

The door flung open by itself and millions of objects poured out of it in a sudden rush.

Cookies, cards, chocolates and many other crushed goods scattered all over the floor.

"What the hell's all this?!" Temari remarked with a surprised look on her face.

"What you're witnessing is every girl in the entire school's heart filled loved 'get well soon' gifts for Sasuke as he returned from hospital pouring out of his locker endlessly" Sakura explained.

"This is unreal! How do they even get these things into his locker? I understand slipping the cards through the crack of his door….but cookies?" Temari questioned yet again

"Easy! Every girl knows the combination of their love interests locker!" Ino replied

'_It must be every locker in the school for Ino then' _Temari thought

Shikamaru smirked as if he knew what Temari was thinking.

"Sweet! You've outdone yourself this time Sasuke!" Kiba cried out in happiness picking off various things off the floor.

Chouji didn't even waste time talking and grab as much as his big arms could hold.

"There is at least 5 months worth of recess here" Neji calmly calculated

Naruto laughed, "I bag these choc-chip cookies!"

"Hey! Don't go bagging all of the good stuff!" Tenten started to get into it

"Anything low fat is mine!" Ino called out

"Everyone! Th-This is Sasuke's decision" Hinata blurted out

Sasuke shrugged, "Let them be"

"This is like a positive side to Sasuke being in hospital…we all save money on our lunch fees by eating all of these gifts" Shikamaru grinned

Temari sighed yet the second time today, "If the girls were smart, they would get rid of the last gift and leave theirs to make themselves stand out"

Ino gasped in shock, "Oh no! That's not allowed!"

"Yeah! Sasuke's everyone's!" Sakura argued as if it was a known fact.

It probably was at such a strange high school.

'_I think Sasuke thinks differ…'_ Temari thought to herself looking at the disgusted Sasuke.

'_Technically, Sasuke belongs to only one person'_ Shikamaru looked at Naruto.

Naruto looked back at him and grinned, '_Of course, and airhead like Naruto wouldn't really take notice'_

After sorting out who gets what present ignoring the crowds of people staring at them, they headed back to their usual spot on the grass to eat together.

Ino started talking about the usual 'daily gossip'. It was always like, 'did you see her hair?' or 'I heard they hooked up the other day' and sometimes, 'I can't believe she did that the other day!'.

Lee went to go have soccer practice.

Temari and Shikamaru would normally sit still quietly eating and maybe engage in conversation when the opportunity came up.

After Ino had finally finished, she stared at our favourite couple sitting next to each other.

Temari caught her glance, "What?"

Ino sighed, "I can't believe you guys are going out!" she let out.

Temari flushed slightly, but not noticeably on her face, "What do you mean by that?"

"I think what Ino's getting at is that you guys made such a fuss about each other constantly complaining about how much you get on each other's nerves and then suddenly you're going out" Sakura explained

"Not to mention that you didn't tell us until _way_ afterwards" Tenten pouted.

"So what the hell made you change your thoughts about Shikamaru from being the most irritating to the most sexiest man alive?" Ino asked

"You think I'm sexy?" Shikamaru grinned raising an eyebrow looking at Temari.

Temari's face grew hotter and she looked away, "Hmph! I said nothing of the sort. Ino just made that up as an expression!"

'_Not that I don't agree with it though…'_ Temari afterthought.

"Oh! What about that Hikaru guy?" Sakura beamed

"You're right Sakura! How could I forget about him?! Now that you're hitched up to Shikamaru, do you think I could give him a shot Temari?" Ino fluttered her long eyelashes innocently.

Shikamaru choked on his sandwich restraining himself from laughing; after all he knew the truth.

"Why are you laughing so hard Shika-man?" Kiba questioned

"Uh, Ino…you can try as hard as you want, but there is no way you can catch Hikaru…" Temari started

"WHAT?!" Ino scoffed in disgust clearly offended by Temari's accusation standing up abruptly.

Temari put her hands up in defense, "Wait, wait…before you get all defensive, at least let me drop in the reason as to why you should give up"

Ino pouted, but sat back down again.

"Why? Wh-what's the reason?" Hinata asked quietly

Neji looked at Temari a tad curious.

Naruto and Sasuke didn't notice since they were in an intense conversation.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head finally recovered.

"Well you see…Hikaru is kinda…uh…" Temari didn't know how to break this to her.

"Is kinda what?" Kiba beckoned on.

"Umm…gay"

Neji's eyes widened.

Sakura gasped.

Hinata's face went red.

Kiba laughed.

Naruto and Sasuke still weren't paying attention.

Tenten gasped.

Ino went pale white and then fainted onto the floor murmuring, "What a waste…wasting on stupid guys…"

"Ah well…Ino would always be the drama queen" Chouji grinned chomping down Sasuke's gifts; therefore not speaking 'til now.

"So…" Tenten tried to change subject, "How have your siblings been Temari?"

"Irritating as usual. Well Gaara not so much, he's always been the silent type and keeps things to himself and never asks for anything unless he really needs to; but Kankurou has only complained and whined all the time. As soon as I get home, he just asks me to cook him food or take him around the place. I swear he can't do anything on his own!" Temari complained and breathed a long tiring sigh, "Which reminds me…they weren't home this morning…"

"Geez, no need to talk bad about me Temari. I really can feel the undying love now" a familiar voice spoke

They all turned around to see Gaara and Kankurou standing behind them.

Wearing their school uniform.

"WH-WHAT?! Why are you both wearing the same school uniform?" Temari questioned loudly.

"Father asked us to attend this school for a short period of time to see how you are going" Gaara answered calmly.

"I don't need to be looked after…" Temari gritted her teeth.

Before anyone can speak, a bunch of high-pitched squeals came from multiple girls around the area.

The whole gang flicked their heads side to side to see where it was coming from.

It wasn't long until they could see a gang of nine guys all wearing a black wristband with red clouds embroidered onto it walking towards them.

"Is that…?" Temari murmured quietly to Shikamaru.

"Yeah, that's the whole gang of 'Akatsuki". The guy at the front with orange spiky hair and black studs pierced all over his face, that's Pain, which is obviously a nickname, he's the leader of those misfits. The girl with dark blue hair next to him is Konan, she's his girlfriend and loves origami. No one knows much about her. Then there's the guy who's bi-coloured black and white, that's Zetsu. He loves plants and he has super stealth abilities. The blue coloured guy, that's Kisame. He's Itachi's best friend and loves all sea creatures, especially sharks and apparently carries a really dangerous sword around that is described to be as sharp as his teeth. The longhaired blondie, that's Deidara. He's totally obsessed with art and always carries explosive clay around with him, which he molds into numerous things. Of course there's that sleaze Hidan and his partner Kakuzu. Hidan has an incredible defence and Kakuzu is known to have a big influence on the black market. The guy that resembles Sasuke and has long black hair tied into a ponytail, that's Itachi" Shikamaru answered taking a deep breathe after saying so much.

"Oh, so that's Itachi? I can imagine him being popular with the girls too. Does it run in their blood or something? Plus, you really know a lot…" Temari questioned and looked at Itachi.

He caught her glance and a shiver went down her spine forcing her to look away. _'What was that feeling?' _she thought.

"Yeah, he belongs with all of those troublemakers. I know a lot because it's on their files, plus I gather information about them for future reference. I feel like I'm forgetting one more…oh yeah, the red head-" Shikamaru got cut off.

"SASORI?!" Kankurou yelled out.

"You know him?" Sasuke asked surprised

"He's our cousin" Gaara replied for Kankurou sounding a bit tense.

"Your cousin?!" Naruto yelled out.

"Wait, does that mean you're related to Sasori too Temari?" Tenten questioned

"Yep. He's our cousin but we haven't seen him in a while though" Temari replied still a tad surprise after not seeing her cousin in a long time.

Sasori looked straight at the three siblings.

Everyone stood up to 'greet' the Akatsuki as they walked up to them.

Girls were still squealing seeing the hottest guy gang, PLUS the rarely seen bad boys too.

"Well, well, if it isn't my cute little brother and his friends. Glad to see you've recovered." Itachi smiled devilishly at his little brother.

Sasuke grimaced.

Naruto clenched his fists.

"What's with you girl? Get your own hairstyle" Deidara commented pointing at Ino.

"EXCUSE ME?! You're the guy with the girly hairstyle. I copied no one AND it looks _so_ much better on _me_" Ino snapped back offended yet the second time today.

"Oh you have a mouth on you girly, want me to blast it off?" Deidara threatened, "Only an artist like moi with ultimate fashion sense can pull this hairstyle off. I even masterfully matched my clothing to go with this tacky wristband I'm forced to wear and turned the ensemble into a **masterpiece**"

"Do you have a problem with the wristbands Deidara?" Pain gave Deidara a threatening look.

Deidara shivered, "O-Of course not leader. I think the design is a bang!"

Ino stuck her nose up, "Oh _please_, a masterpiece? The matching studded collar and belt was _totally_ last season"

"How DARE you judge my apparel so poorly!!" Deidara hissed back.

"Now, now you two…there's no need to fight." Chouji said trying to calm Ino down.

"Kankurou, Gaara, Temari, what are you all doing here in Konoha?" Sasori asked calmly ignoring his own partner who he never agreed with.

"Well, dad asked Temari to come here on exchange to strengthen the bond between the sister schools; and then he requested me and Gaara to attend as well for a short period of time to keep watch on her" Kankurou answered briefly.

"Ah, so its all Uncle's doing…"

"Grr! Why do I have to keep reminding you guys that I don't need looking after!" Temari yelled.

"I see you haven't changed at all Temari. Still a spunky as ever" Sasori commented.

"And spunky I like!" Hidan quoted butting into the conversation.

Shikamaru glared hard back at him.

Kankurou clenched his fists baring his teeth at him slightly.

Gaara gave his darkest and coldest stare.

Even Sasori emitted a dark and cold aura.

There was a stalemate…besides the mindless arguing done by Ino and Deidara in the background.

"Geez, can't a guy make a pass without having a crowd telling him to fuck off!" Hidan threw his hands up in disbelief.

Temari still felt a bit annoyed at the fact that her father still didn't trust her, but at the moment, it wasn't the right time to bring it up.

"Hey, I heard you've got skills in fighting" Kisame grinned showing his sharp teeth while talking to Neji.

Neji smirked, "What about it?"

'_I can't believe Neji's playing along with this'_ everyone stared in disbelief.

"Hey! Don't start picking fights out of no where!" Tenten called out to Kisame.

Kisame laughed, "Wow, you've got a strong girl there…uh, Neji. Not bad I must say. If the both of you take me on at the same time, you might have a chance"

"You're pretty cocky aren't you?" Neji commented.

"I could say the same to you" Kisame grinned.

"WAIT! DON'T LEAVE MY YOUTHFULNESS OUT JUST YET!" a familiar war cry came.

Lee rushed super fast to the group, "Rock Lee at your service!"

Everyone went quiet.

Even Ino and Deidara went quiet, staring at Lee's poor fashion sense in disbelief.

"What…a horrid haircut" Deidara could hardly say.

"You there!" Lee pointed his finger at Zetsu, "I see green is also your favourite colour!"

Zetsu stared at Lee's accusing finger, _'Is this guy an idiot?'_ "Not particularly, I just happen to be fond of plants that happen to be mainly green"

"I can tell, you reek of fertilizer" Kiba sniffed.

"You can smell it on me? Even I can hardly tell" Zetsu looked at Kiba suspiciously.

"Yeah, my family has a genetically defected chromosome that makes us all have a really sharp sense of smell. That's why we are all close friends with our dogs since we feel a little bit similar in a way" Kiba explained and then flicked out a picture of Akamaru to show from his wallet in his pocket, "And this is my best bud Akamaru"

Kakuzu's eyes widened, "Isn't that one of the rarest breed of dogs in the world? He has to be worth quite a fortune!"

"I dunno, my mum gave him to me when I was a kid. It's not like I care, I'll never sell Akamaru…" Kiba shrugged.

"Are you sure? Not even for a thousand dollars?" Kakuzu offered.

'_Shit, a thousand dollars?!' _everyone thought.

"Didn't you hear me? I said I would never sell him" Kiba growled.

"Ok then, what about five thousand?"

"You are obviously deaf, I said NOT FOR SALE! Akamaru has no price tag" Kiba barked.

"_Everything_ has a price tag" Kakuzu smirked.

"Well not my Akamaru!" Kiba started to get really angry.

"K-Kiba, please don't fight so harshly. There is no need!" Hinata stuttered loudly

Kiba held back.

"Well things have gotten interesting" Sakura thought out loud looking at the various groups formed.

"So Sasori, you have disappeared from out of the family's sight for about two years now, what happened?" Kankurou asked curiously.

"The family was in a ruckus after you had went missing" Gaara added in

"I guess I didn't like to have strings attached to me so they could just 'puppet' me around, forcing me to do things. I've never shared the same views as the family and they never bothered listening to mine, so I left all together and moved to Konoha by myself" Sasori explained

"That was what I thought…" Temari said outloud.

"Alright everybody, listen up! I would like to make a proposal!" Pain demanded attention.

The rest turned to look at him.

"We, the Akatsuki, would like to propose a challenge" he declared.

'_What?!'_ the gang thought.

* * *

Well here comes the Akatsuki.

I will try to incorporate as much humour as possible, but right now we're heading into quite a bit of drama, so it'll be a little bit harder.

After all I want to keep the intense air!

I've decided to attempt a Valentines Day oneshot, which will be released on Valentines Day (duh) and hopefully another chapter of Konoha High as well! :D

That's why this chapter was a bit short…sorry.

I'm trying to get my releases back on time!

For the reviewer who asked, yes I have listened to 'High School Never Ends' by Bowling For Soup, and I loved it.

I came across it on Youtube looking up random Naruto stuff feeling a bit bored.

I'm glad you were all a-ok with Hikaru!

I was prepared to receive some flames, but thank god I didn't!

Haha no I didn't get the name from Ouran, but I do love Ouran too!

I know Hidan has very crude language, but I'm not a fan of swearing so it'll be kept to the bare minimum just so his character is still in tact.

Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter and sorry if it was a bit boorish, but introductions can be like that.

Please review if possible

Chanel~


	22. What's at stake?

Sorry again for not updating in a while!

Senior years of high school are killing me!

Exams…EVERYTHING!

Anyway, thanks to the following that reviewed: idoenjoyanime; Xeniakunoichi; the girl in your closet; Temari4689; I Love Shy Girls; Coletteee. =); bittersweet-temari; Fuzzfaerie; MsEvilbabe; Sjorsie; Equally Me; Squishy; ObsessiveShikaTemaFan; Andra-jordanitza; CatDevilAsian;

If it wasn't for you guys, I would be doing homework (which sucks :P)

Ok, well onto the story!

Oh by the way, Pain is spelt as Pain and Pein, none of which are incorrect but right now the manga translators have been switching between the two, so I'm settling with 'Pein'

* * *

"We, the Akatsuki, would like to propose a challenge" Pein challenged coolly.

'_What?!'_ everyone thought.

"What kind of challenge?" Sasuke grimaced.

"Please let me explain" Konan jumped in and held out her hand with 2 different type of dice, "Each member of the gang will face each other one on one and it will be decided by these dice. The Akatsuki member will choose the first challenge being the aggressor, but the other member is allowed to disagree if the odds are too uneven. Then the winner of that match's team is allowed to choose the next challenge. Are we all clear about this?"

"Yes" Sasuke nodded.

Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ok, now, Team Konoha, do you accept our challenge?"

The air was tense.

"Give us some time please" Shikamaru called his 'team' to gather around him.

"What should we do?" Sakura asked the group.

"Well, let's accept!" Kiba yelled out

"Wait, lets think about it first" Neji moved everyone to the side, "This is the Akatsuki. Their challenges are probably going to be hard and life changing. Before we go accept blindly, we need to make sure we are all prepared for this"

"Well I am ready to take them on whenever!" Sakura cried out loud.

"I've been meaning to take care of some unfinished business" Sasuke smirked

"Yeah! Me too!" Naruto agreed

"I'm gonna make that creep pay for putting a price on Akamaru!" Kiba growled

"I will be un-youthful if I say no!" Lee quoted

"That wannabe me…mocking me…" Ino grinded her teeth

"Wh-what they do is wrong…so…" Hinata mumbled in agreement

"I'd rather eat…but if Ino's in, someone has to keep her in control…" Chouji continued to eat at his chips.

"I think its time to show off my skills that I've been working on" Tenten grinned

"Maybe there's a chance of getting Sasori back…?" Kankuro wondered

Gaara smiled…well sort of…

"Oh well, if my siblings and everyone else is in…" Temari thought out loud.

"Shikamaru…?" Sasuke looked at Shikamaru

Shikamaru wrinkled his forehead deep in thought.

Everyone stared at him awaiting an answer.

Shikamaru sighed, "How troublesome…I guess I knew this moment would come anyway…"

"Is that a yes Shikamaru?" Naruto got excited.

"Yes, Naruto, it's a yes" Shikamaru grinned.

"WOOHOO! LET'S START THE PARTY!" Kiba cried out in joy.

"Kiba…it's not a party…" Hinata mumbled.

"Yo! Akatsuki! We accept!" Naruto declared loudly pointing at the gang pumped.

"Good" Pein spoke.

"Well then, we shall roll the dice now to decide the first round" Konan announced bringing the dice out once again.

"But wait, there are more members of our group in comparison to yours, so how is this going to work?" Shikamaru asked before Konan started to roll.

There was a pause.

"We didn't think of that did we?" Kisame asked Itachi.

"No, we didn't…" Itachi replied cooly.

"Look, can we just roll the first round already? I've got an appointment to get to soon!" Deidara stomped his foot impatiently.

"I hope it's a makeover. I wouldn't like a guy to keep mimicking my looks, all though it's very flattering" Ino giggled

"Stupid bitch…" Deidara swore

"May I propose a suggestion?" Zetsu asked

"What is it Zetsu?" Pein wondered

"How about we just roll the first round for now and after that round is completed, we will all do an all-out battle with all members participating afterwards to find the winner"

"But then, what would be the point of having the first round?" Sasori questioned

"Well, it'll give us time to think of an idea about the 'final battle' and maybe we could make the winner have some sort of advantage?"

Everyone pondered on the idea.

"It would make things easier…after all, if we had multiple battles, it'll drag out too long and the police would probably catch on what's happening…" Shikamaru thought out loud.

"Indeed" Neji agreed

"An all out war sounds more youthful than a single round!" Lee cried.

"Then can we all agree to a single battle then after one round and winner will be given an advantage?"

"Fine with me!" Naruto agreed.

There were nods all the way around.

"Wait a minute, what at stake?" Shikamaru asked

All eyes were on him.

"I understand that we're being challenged…but for what?" Shikamaru continued

"Oh yeah, we forgot to mention that!" Kisame laughed

"That's because you're all fucking idiots!" Hidan cussed

"Don't hear you remembering either Hidan" Kakuzu commented

"What did you fucking say?!!" Hidan snapped

"ENOUGH!" Pein silenced them.

"This battle is here to settle all unwanted feelings between the gangs. In many ways, we are connected and have wanted to be at war with one another for quite some time now, so the point is that we'll settle everything between ourselves once and for all" Konan explained briefly.

"Is that all?" Sasuke questioned.

"I agree with Uchiha Jnr. I think we need to have something else at stake…" Kakuzu commented

"How about we get to choose a member from the losing team to keep, no questions asked?" Hidan licked his lips.

Temari shivered.

Shikamaru grinded his teeth.

"WHAT?!!" Kankurou barked.

"Wait Kankurou, this could be a chance to get Sasori back…" Gaara suggested

Kankurou calmed down and thought about it.

"Wait a minute, who would you wanna take?" Naruto asked

Shikamaru and Temari all ready knew the answer.

"Why that little blonde bitch Temari of course" Hidan grinned.

A spark when through everyone's heads.

"What an interesting proposition…" Kisame chuckled.

"Fine then! But if we win, we get Sasori!" Temari blurted out.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!!!!!" everyone yelled out at once at Temari including Sasori.

"You can't possibly be agreeing to this Temari?!" Kankurou cried

"Seriously Temari, don't joke around!" Tenten yelled

Shikamaru balled his hand into a fist knowing that she wasn't joking.

"I'm not joking, I know that you two, Gaara and Kankurou, have been missing Sasori and so have I. In fact, I don't like how he left things in our family and this'll be our only chance to fix things" Temari explained.

"But still…" Ino paused.

"It's my choice now; let me go through with it…" Temari pleaded.

The gang looked at each other worried.

"Well, I'll have to trust my sister's judgement" Gaara said first.

"I couldn't make her change her mind even if I wanted to…" Kankurou sighed.

"If that's what you really want to do…" Tenten murmured.

Everyone slowly agreed one by one reluctantly…except for Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru…?" Temari sounded uncertain.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth and closed his eyes deep in thought.

"I-I haven't got enough data to think of the odds of this outcome…" Shikamaru told in a state a shock

"Then you'll have to trust me…" Temari said slowly

"But if we lose, you'll be in the hands of one of the most dangerous men around. Hidan isn't going to be exactly serving you tea and buying you fancy gifts. This is very dangerous, do you understand this Temari?"

Temari nodded hesitantly.

Shikamaru clenched his jaw, "Then I guess we have no other choice then to not lose"

"Of course! I'm not losing! Not now, not ever!" Naruto laughed

Sasuke grinned, "Trust me, this time Itachi's gonna get it!"

"I don't go back on my word!" Lee claimed

"You know that I will win!" Kiba laughed

"Don't worry" Ino smiled.

"Have faith in the gang" Sakura commented

"If it's to help someone in our gang, we'll definitely pull through" Tenten smirked

Hinata smiled in agreement.

"That's our destiny" Neji grinned

"Don't worry Shikamaru, we won't let Temari go into their hands" Chouji patted Shikamaru's back.

All of the horribly stuffy air went away and finally everything was clear.

As if a weight was lifted off everyone's shoulders.

Temari looked at Shikamaru.

He gave her a reassuring smile in agreement.

"Thanks"

"Well we have no reason to really go against this idea since Sasori is ok with this" Pein scratched the back of his neck.

"Really Sasori?!" Kankurou exclaimed

"Show me what you've two got after all of this time" Sasori grinned

Gaara grinned back.

"Also, one more thing!" Sasuke yelled out catching everyone off guard.

"Little brother, what is it?" Itachi looked up at him

"Don't call me that! You know you've lost that right a long time ago! Let's say the losing gang has to forever stay out of the winner's way, no more trouble" Sasuke smirked.

"Sounds good to me!" Naruto agreed.

"Fair enough…" Pein also agreed.

"Then let's get started already!" Deidara complained

"All right, the first round goes too…" Konan brought out the dice and rolled them.

It was as if time went by slowly as the dice rolled.

Sasuke hoped it was him and Itachi.

Naruto stared at them intensely.

Sakura hoped it wasn't her.

Lee wanted himself to show up so he could look good in front of Sakura.

Shikamaru wanted to bring down Hidan.

Kiba wanted to bite off Kakuzu's head.

Everyone was hoping something as the dice continued to roll.

Then they finally came to a stop on…

Ino and Deidara.

"Hell yeah! Your going down bi-atch!" Deidara screamed out in excitement.

"You wish! Finally my time to bring down the phony!" Ino laughed evilly.

"Ah damnit! I really hoped it was me!" Kiba growled.

"Have a death wish do we?" Kakuzu smiled evilly.

"I wanted to look good in front of Sakura" Lee cried

"Trust me; it wouldn't have made a difference…" Sakura commented uneasy.

"Ino? What type of fight is that going to be?" Sasuke hissed annoyed that it wasn't him and Itachi.

"Yeah Ino, you can't fight" Chouji looked worried.

"Um actually…" Kisame started, "It's a challenge, not a fight, so it doesn't mean it specifically has to be coming down to fists. It could be anything, like cooking for example"

"Mmm…shark fin soup…" Chouji licked his lips.

"Say what?!" Kisame spoke in horror.

"Alright. When the time comes, Deidara will announce the challenge and the war begins. 'Til then, make what ever preparations you need to make and we'll see you soon" Pein discussed and walked off.

The rest of Akatsuki followed.

You could see Sasori threatening Hidan in a distance and telling him off for making such a strange proposal.

There were still a crowd of girls surrounding the group and some had run off to chase after the Akatsuki.

Some were taking photo's with their mobiles during this and some were even video recording it.

Well Facebook and Youtube was going to be flooded.

"I just realised…" Shikamaru thought out loud.

"What is it Shikamaru?" Neji wondered.

"This news is going to spread so big that it's going to reach China" Shikamaru gasped.

"Shit! The girls!" Kiba looked at them all as they whispered to one another already sharing ideas on the situation.

"They've got evidence too~" Ino whined

"What are we going to do? We definitely _don't _want interference" Tenten asked

"Stand back everyone, I've got an idea" Sasuke walked forward facing the group of girls.

"N-no Sasuke, you can't be thinking…" Naruto stuttered.

"We have no choice Naruto" Sasuke grieved

"There has to be another way"

"There is none! We have to act quick!"

Naruto looked at him concerned and nodded.

"Everyone, cover the girls eyes" Naruto told the group.

"Wh-what?" Hinata mumbled

"Why?" Kiba questioned.

"Just do it, quickly! And for Sakura and Ino, cover their ears"

Shikamaru covered Temari's eyes.

Lee blocked Sakura's ears and Sakura held her own eyes.

Chouji helped Ino.

Soon all the girls in the group were done.

"Alright, we're set Sasuke" Naruto told Sasuke anxiously.

"What is he going to do?" Kiba still questioned not knowing what's going on.

"Oh no, he's going to do _that_" Shikamaru stared gobsmacked.

"_That?_" Neji stared at Sasuke suspiciously.

"If you guys know what's best for yourselves, cover the girl's eyes and ears tightly"

Shikamaru's face grimaced holding Temari tighter.

"If Shikamaru's the one warning us like this, then we better listen" Chouji spoke

"Quickly Naruto, get the school nurse before Sasuke starts!" Shikamaru ordered Naruto.

"Oh yeah, I better do that" Naruto ran off.

"Ok, here we go" Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.

Then he opened them and looked at the girls staring at him giving them a devilish smile, "I love you"

All of the girls gasped.

A few of them fell on the floor due to a heart attack.

Many of them got blood noses and fell on the floor in a puddle of their own blood due to blood loss.

The rest were standing weakly still in a trance staring at Sasuke.

"Please forget about what has happened just now, ok?" Sasuke grinned and winked.

Roses and hearts flew everywhere.

One hit Shikamaru's head, "Ouch!"

The girls replied weakly, "Of course our darling Sasuke" and fainted onto the ground.

All that was left was a pile of girls lying on the ground in a total trance all smiling happily.

"Ok, it's safe to let go now" Sasuke looked back at the gang.

They were all looking at Sasuke in disbelief.

"That's…amazing…you are literally a lady killer" Kiba's mouth was left hanging.

"What an outcome. I understand why we had to cover their eyes, but why only ears for Sakura and Ino?" Neji questioned still shocked.

"That's because those two are already obsessed as it is, so listening to my voice alone would've knocked them out" Sasuke explained.

"To think that you would unleash yourself willingly…" Shikamaru commented

Sasuke went red, "We had no choice. I hate doing it but…"

"Nah man, good job!" Chouji smiled.

Lee cried, "Could you teach me to be that cool and youthful?"

"No"

Lee sobbed.

Shikamaru slowly peeled his hands away from Temari's eyes.

Temari opened her eyes just to see a pile of girls on the floor, "What the hell happened here?"

"Sasuke unleashed his super pheromones" Shikamaru explained.

"Amazing…" Tenten said shocked at the scene in front of her.

"Sakura? Ino? What's the matter with you guys?" Chouji yelled out

Everyone stared at them.

They were both in a dazed saying 'Sasuke' over and over again.

"Damnit, it wasn't enough" Shikamaru cursed out loud.

"I don't get it; we were holding their ears tightly!" Lee exclaimed.

"They couldn't of possibly heard Sasuke or see him" Chouji looked concerned.

"Must have been when Sasuke winked and the hearts and roses started flying around. It probably had hit them. You were overdoing it a bit Sasuke" Shikamaru figured out.

"Sorry, it was a big group of them so I had to unleash a bit more than usual. I haven't done it in a while, so it's hard to control" Sasuke apologised.

"That's alright, it looks pretty mild so they won't forget anything…" Shikamaru reassured.

"What happens to the rest of the girls?" Neji looked at the pile.

"They are forced to follow Sasuke's command and who ever fainted at the start will forget everything that had happened in the past 10-15 minutes" Shikamaru answered

"Unbelievable…" Chouji gasped.

"Hey guys! I've got the infirmary people here!" Naruto called after them running.

A whole bunch of nurses and even Principle Tsunade followed after him.

"I didn't even realise we had that many nurses" Temari commented.

"I think they increased exponentially when we enrolled here" Shikamaru chuckled.

"How the hell did you get the whole infirmary to agree to come with you Naruto?" Kiba asked.

"I just said 'Sasuke's going to unleash his super pheromones' and they all ran out of the door immediately" Naruto replied.

"Why did you guys have to name it?" Sasuke flushed furiously.

"Wait, how do the nurses even know about it?" Neji questioned

"This has happened once and now when ever it happens, they will come rushing"

"Why haven't I heard of this happening?" Kiba barked

"It was kept top secret" Shikamaru shrugged.

"Can you tell me now since I've seen it?" Kiba suggested

"No" Sasuke answered for Shikamaru

All of the nurses had started to rush all of the girls inside the building and for the worse cases; Tsunade had started to treat them.

Finally, they had all woken up not remembering a thing.

* * *

The bell had rung and the gang started to head back to the building.

"What a troublesome lunch" Shikamaru yawned.

"How exciting!" Kiba cried

"I wonder what type of challenge Deidara will ask of Ino…" Chouji wondered.

"It will probably have something to do with fashion, I wouldn't worry about it" Hinata spoke.

"I really can't be bothered with class after THAT" Tenten groaned.

As they continued to walk on, Shikamaru grabbed Temari's hand and lead her to a different direction.

"Shikamaru…?" Temari questioned his move.

Shikamaru didn't look at her or answer and continued to pull her arm taking her somewhere else.

They continued to walk outside of the building and soon they were alone behind one of the buildings.

Shikamaru didn't let go of her hand.

A gust of wind blew briefly.

After a moment of silence, Temari spoke, "Shikamaru? What's wro-"

She was cut off by Shikamaru who pulled her to himself into an embrace.

"Shika…maru…? What's gotten into you?" Temari hesitated.

"Why?" he asked

"Why what?"

"Why did you agree to those terms?"

Temari shuttered.

She couldn't tell if he was angry, annoyed or sad.

Everything was in turmoil.

"I told you, it's the only way to bring Sasori back"

"There had to be some other way. Hidan, he's dangerous, twisted, frikin' MAD and you just go and walk into his arms-"

"Who said I was walking anywhere?! Look I don't plan to go anywhere else but here!" Temari looked up to see Shikamaru's face.

His eyes were cold and dark.

"I told you, trust me, trust in our group, and trust _yourself_. We won't lose to that group. We're strong enough to pull through this, why are you uncertain?"

"Because…because I can't calculate the outcome. Right now it looks like a 50% chance both ways. I don't like those odds. I'm angry with the fact that I agreed to this…"

"Then stop sooking and take this on like a man. Instead of regretting what just happened, do something about it instead and prepare for the future because that's where we're heading at the moment!" Temari scolded.

Shikamaru stopped talking.

Thoughts were processing through his head and then he grinned, "I'll take you up on that" he parted from Temari and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Temari questioned.

"I'm preparing for the future" he replied without looking back.

_Temari's right._

"MASTER GAI!!" Lee cried out.

"Yes, my youthful Lee" Gai replied with joy.

"I need your help! I'm going to enter a great battle to show my youthfulness and prove to Sakura that I can protect her!"

Tears started to form in Gai's eyes, "That's the spirit Lee! You've learnt well! Now 100 laps around the gym on your hands!"

"Yes Master Gai!"

_I should stop looking back and regretting my choices_

"Hey Akamaru!"

Akamaru barked back in reply.

"Come on boy! We've got some training to do!" Kiba grinned

_Instead I should keep looking forward_

"M-Ms. Kurenai…" Hinata stuttered unsure

"Hinata, it's unlike you to skip class" Kurenai spoke shocked.

"P-please, be my teacher again and guide me. I've always been the one who's running away and needing help, b-but this time I want to be useful and help everyone else"

Kurenai stood there shocked watching Hinata bow her head down.

Then she smiled.

_Everyone else is trying their hardest_

"Please Tsunade! Teach us how to treat people!" Ino and Sakura asked in unison.

"I'm busy you two. Why are you asking me about this now?" Tsunade grumbled.

"Because we know we're not great fighters, but we still want to help! Please, help us help our friends!"

Tsunade looked at them sceptically, and then sighed.

"Well if this is what you want, I better not hear any complaints from neither of you"

"Of course!" Ino gleamed

"We won't let you down" Sakura smiled.

"Then let's get going!" Tsunade called out.

"Tsunade…don't you still have your principal duties you need to finish" Shizune sobbed.

_So why can't I?_

"Master Hyuuga"

"What brings you here, young Neji?"

"I need your guidance to help me pull through of what's ahead"

Hyuuga stared at the young one before him. "Very well"

"Thank you Master"

_It's time to take action_

"Ey! Ero-sennin!" Naruto called out to a man with white hair.

"Ah! If it isn't Naruto! How's life been?"

"I need your help to train again"

"Is that all you come here for"

"Please, this time I really need it" Naruto looked at him seriously.

Jiraiya looked back at him and grinned.

"Lucky you, I seem to have some free time ahead of me. All of the cute girls have stopped coming to the hot springs for a little while"

Naruto beamed, "Thanks Ero-sennin!"

_Make a move_

"Yo, Sasuke" Kakashi called out to the black-haired kid.

Sasuke turned to look at him.

"I've been looking for you" he smiled.

_And who knows_

"Dad!"

"What is it Chouji?"

"I want to start training now!"

"You what?!"

_It may just turn out for the best if we keep on trying_

"Oi, Asuma!"

"Well, if it isn't Shikamaru. What can I do for you" He breathed out a cloud of smoke.

"I heard you were quite the fighter before you became a teacher"

"What about it?"

Shikamaru grinned.

_So let's keep moving forward not looking back._

* * *

Well I hope the ending wasn't too confusing!

I have realised that I didn't include the sand sibs or Tenten at the end, bit I had no idea who their mentors were going to be so I just left it out.

Sorry this chapter had A LOT of talking, so I ran out of words to replace 'said' and repeated a lot of them

Hope it wasn't too much of a bother.

Thanks to those who reviewed my Valentines Day fic!

It's much appreciated!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Sorry it took a while to update, but the next one won't be as long because holidays are coming up!

Keep up those reviews please! They're the only thing keeping me going!

Chanel~


	23. Bullies, Dark Ino and Scary Temari

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated a new chapter!

As you know I have been busy and also the fact I've had no urge to write.

Yes, I've become a victim of WRITING BLOCKS.

I didn't want to write anything half-baked to you all since you've all been so kind as to review; so I took a minor holiday break from writing.

But now I'm back again and hopefully in tip-top shape so thanks for being patient~

To those of you who have reviewed: ObsessiveShikaTemaFan; y-in-flame.; Andra; Andra-jordanitza; Angel's Wiings; idoenjoyanime; XeniaKunoichi; the girl in your closet; tigers-and-dragons; Kunoichi Animagus; Sjorsie; bittersweet-temari; MsEvilbabe; orangepumpkins; Coletteee. =]; THAT FAT POKEMON (SL); x Wacky Fairyx; Silbern; MariLovesKristenStewart; Life of Banishment; LadyBella; TheUnitedCosplayer

Re-reading your reviews brought me back so give yourself a pat on the back!

Alright, no more talking so enjoy the chapter!

Oh right, due to a demand, I'll bring Shino in as a star guest in future chapters XD

* * *

After the big event from the day before, Temari felt slightly reluctant to go to school.

Some reason everything felt a bit dull in comparison to the drama.

'_Oh god, please don't tell me I've become a masochist!'_ she pleaded to herself as she entered the gates.

On the way to her lockers, she was walking in a slow manner due to being tired after not getting a full night's sleep because she couldn't stop thinking about the day before.

Everything about Hidan and the Akatsuki and Sasori and...Hidan was doing her head in.

A gang of girls ran into her (which seemed to be on purpose) making Temari lose composure and stumble.

And everyone knows how Temari hates losing composure.

She quickly recovered and was about to say something un-ladylike that happen to have a word that rhymed with 'witches' in it, but stopped when the gang itself spoke.

She could distinctively hear them say, "Exchange students should keep their grubby paws off our sophomores" as they walked off as if nothing happened.

This made Temari close her mouth and think.

When she finally reached her locker, she opened it up just to receive a few letters falling out of it.

She opened one that fell at her feet.

There were only two words printed on it:

GET LOST

Temari looked at it puzzled and then read another one.

GO AWAY

And again:

YOU'RE ANNOYING, STAY AWAY FROM HIM

That one gave her a bit of an idea of what was going on.

Temari held them all in her hand.

They all pretty much said the same thing.

She stared at them for a bit, and then scrunched them up and stuffed them in her pocket.

'_I'll deal with them later'_

"Heya Temari!" a familiar voice called for her.

Temari turned around to see Tenten waving at her holding her sports bag.

"Hey Tenten" Temari replied closing her locker after getting her books out ready for class.

They walked to Tenten's locker and when Tenten opened it, letters fell out of it as well.

"What the hell's all this?!" Tenten exclaimed at the sight of letters falling at her feet.

"You too huh?" Temari commented.

"What do you mean 'you too'?" Tenten questioned.

"Girls! We've got a crisis!" Ino ran to them followed by Sakura and Hinata.

"We can see..." Temari responded

Ino gasped at the sight of the letters of hatred all over the floor.

"We're too late" Sakura observed.

"O-Oh dear..." Hinata cried.

Then the bell rang.

"Look, we'll discuss this at lunch. Tenten pick them all up and bring them with you" Ino ordered and ran off.

Tenten did what she was told and then got her books ready.

Everyone then went off to form assembly.

* * *

They all met up at their usual spot and sat down on the floor.

The girls fished out the letters of hatred and chucked them on the floor in the middle of their circle.

"What the hell's all this?" Kiba asked

Neji picked one up and while reading it his eyes grew a bit wider for a slight second and then he put it back down calmly when he finished.

"Stupid hate letters is what they are" Ino answered in disgust.

Shikamaru then picked up one of them and analysed it for a bit, "Well it's a girls handwriting"

"No shit Shikamaru" Temari commented

"Wh-Why are they doing this to us...?" Hinata questioned

"Well I have a pretty good idea" Sakura added

"And what is that?" Chouji asked in between munches.

"I think this would give a good enough explanation" Temari replied opening one of the letters and chucking it open for everyone to see.

YOU'RE ANNOYING, STAY AWAY FROM HIM

"_Him" _Shikamaru pointed out.

"After gathering some information, it seems that information has leaked about Temari and Shikamaru going out, as well as Tenten and Neji" Ino discussed, "And it seems to be a single group of girls that are doing these things...a very big group though..."

"WHAT?! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!" Temari yelled out

"Calm down Temari" Sakura shushed.

"How do you expect me to calm down? I still remembered that day at PE when I talked to Shikamaru ONCE and nearly got killed by stupid fangirls!" Temari spoke a little quieter, but still none of the less loud.

"She's got a point" Tenten supported Temari.

"Well still, how did they find out?" Sasuke wondered on the issue slightly interested since he could still remember the promise he made to Shikamaru, "You didn't say anything, did you Dobe?"

"No I swear I didn't! I mean we did make a dea-" Naruto got cut off by Sasuke's hand

"Good to hear idiot" Sasuke said quickly

"Hmm...yes...how did they find out?" Shikamaru added in quickly after

"Well...uh...actually..." Kiba hesitated.

All heads turned to him.

"That might be my fault..." Kiba continued

Everyone paused.

"Please..._elaborate_ Kiba..." Neji asked

"Well you see", Kiba started to speak carefully, "after a bit of training with Akamaru yesterday, I got caught up with a few girls from our school. We went out for a bit of a drink and I may have had a _little_ bit too much, and y'know...when I'm drunk I talk a lot without realising it and I probably mentioned you guys and..."

Kiba didn't need to say anymore.

Shikamaru and Neji started to crack their fists.

Temari grinded her teeth giving Kiba a death look.

Tenten stared at Kiba playing with her little kunai necklace.

"N-Now guys...calm down...I swear I didn't mean to. I mean, we're all great buddies and you know how I am with alcohol and-and I didn't do it on purpose...please guys don't...guys...?" Kiba put his hands up in defence.

"DO YOU WANT TO DIE!" they all yelled out and started chasing after Kiba.

After plummeting Kiba into the ground, they returned peacefully to the circle.

"Now the problem is how to handle it..." Sakura pondered.

"I'm sure if you ignore them, they'll eventually get over it..." Chouji commented.

"I don't think that theory will work this time..." Hinata spoke.

"Look, I understand why Temari and Tenten are targeting, but why me, Sakura and Hinata as well?" Ino wondered.

"Probably because you all hang out with us" Sasuke suggested

"Before they most likely turned a bit of a blind eye towards it, since just hanging out with us wasn't enough to make a commotion about it, but since the latest news, it seems all bitter feeling are pouring out at once" Shikamaru analysed his opinion.

"Well, that makes sense" Tenten thought out loud

"Still, the problem remains on what to do about it..." Sakura sighed

"I guess there's nothing else to do but to take Chouji's advice and ignore it hoping they'll get over themselves soon..." Ino sighed as well on this thought

"Man...that's so weak! Is that really the only option?" Temari remarked in dislike.

"I haven't got any other ideas..." Tenten sighed along with the rest.

Then the bell rang.

* * *

A few days passed and everyday was the same.

Then after a week things started to escalate and soon thing from their desk were stolen or thrown in the bin, the hatred notes multiplied and some were just plainly stuck on the door, they continued to get pushed and shoved in the hallways.

Sometimes it was something stupid like a note stuck on their back saying 'kick me' or something along the lines of it.

After a couple of weeks, Ino ran to the group with chalk dust all over her hair and shoulders screaming, "I'M SO SICK OF THIS!"

"Oh god what happened to you?" Sakura started to pat off all the dust.

"Those bitches frikin' dropped chalkboard dusters from the second floor on me" Ino cursed grinding her teeth

"It's really starting to get worse..." Tenten frowned

"That's it! No more Miss. Nice Ino, those girls are gonna cry" Ino smiled evily with an aura of malice surrounding her.

"Oh god, Dark Ino has awakened..." Shikamaru smacked his forehead.

"Those girls have finally done it" Sasuke smirked.

"Still, it wasn't very nice of them to do this to the girls!" Naruto commented

"Now, now Ino...calm down..." Sakura tried to comfort her.

"Sakura, right now I heard they are making a website called .com dedicated to you at this moment" Ino mentioned

Sakura's lip twitched.

"Oh really...they think they are so smart ey?" an aura of fire burned behind Sakura.

"What great fire of youth!" Lee cried out

"Let's go Sakura. We've got some business to handle" Ino ordered.

"Right behind you" Sakura laughed evilly and they both stalked away.

"Oh man...someone's gonna die" Kiba noted.

"D-Don't say that!" Hinata cried.

"They've been pretty easy on you though Hinata, I wonder why..." Temari pondered.

"Well look at her Temari", Tenten answered, "can you really bully someone with big doe-eyes like hers"

Temari stared at her for a moment.

"You've got a point" Temari sighed

"W-What?" Hinata shook her head in confusion and flustered.

"Either way, they are starting to get out of hand..." Neji spoke

"What are you going to do Temari?" Tenten asked

"Meh, I don't really care. If they want to make something of it, then I'll make something of it" Temari smirked

"Just don't go too hard on them ok?" Shikamaru sighed

The bell rang for the end of lunch.

"Well guess it's time to split" Kiba got up and yawned loudly stretching his arms out.

Temari's next class was cancelled, so she had some free time and then she had a class with Hinata.

They all waved goodbye to one another and headed off in their own directions.

Temari walked around the campus.

She didn't feeling like getting rid of homework since she didn't have much at the moment to bother, so she continued to walk around watching the classes and the trees.

She headed to the oval and saw Kiba kicking the football between the poles scoring a point with a group of girls screaming after him.

Then looking over at the soccer field, she saw Naruto scoring a goal which lead more screaming from girls.

She then moved onto the gym and watched Neji train for the Martial Arts tournament coming up with girls watching him with awe, though staying quiet due to the atmosphere.

Temari almost forgot for a moment how popular they all were.

She always remembered Sasuke being super popular, but the rest she seemed to have forgotten for a moment.

Then she headed for a random classroom and saw a crowd of girls surrounding at what seemed to be a match between Shikamaru and Asuma playing chess.

Shikamaru then grinned in triumph and placed down his last piece and called checkmate.

Asuma rubbed the back of his neck in defeat.

The girls squealed loudly.

'_Geez, even Shikamaru playing chess is popular...how the hell does that work?!'_ Temari thought to herself.

After wondering the grounds a bit more the bell rang for the last period of the day and Temari headed to her class with Hinata.

She sat down in the seat next to Hinata placing her books down loudly on her desk.

Hinata cringed a little from the sound and then relaxed afterwards.

Then a student called out her name.

Temari turned around and saw a group of girls from a different class with scowls on their faces at the door.

"They said they want to talk to you" the student that spoke Temari's name told her.

"T-Temari...you don't have to..." Hinata stuttered

"No, it seems we have some things to discuss" Temari grinned and walked up to the girls waiting at the door for her.

Hinata watched Temari walk off with the girls and then looked down.

She looked around uncomfortably and then ran out of the classroom too with her fists clenched.

* * *

Temari followed the girls silently; they had taken her to the roof of the school.

"So what has honored me the presence of you girls?" Temari smirked

"Don't get cocky Suna!" one hissed

They all had pounded on makeup and enough eyeliner and mascara to mistake them for a racoon.

"Look Suna-"

"I have a name" Temari interrupted

"Shut up! Look, like, stay away from the top 5 ok?" another spoke.

"Top 5?" Temari questioned playing dumb.

"Don't play dumb! You know who we mean! Kiba, Neji, Sasuke, Naruto and SHIKAMARU"

"Hmm...let me think...uh...sorry no can do!"Temari smiled

"You cocky bitch!" another cursed.

There was about five of them.

'_I can handle this many' _Temari thought calculating the situation.

"We're not asking you, we're _telling _you. There's only one option"

"Yeah and that's to stay with them. Sweet, well I had a great time talking to you. See ya!" Temari started to walk off but her arm was caught by one of the girls.

"Hey! We're not done here!" The girl who grabbed her arm spoke.

"What?" Temari sent a death glare giving them all a shiver down their spine, "Do you wanna get violent now?"

The girl let go of her arm instantly.

"So the rumours are true. You are the violent type"

"So what if I am?" Temari scowled

"Don't worry. We were prepared for this. Boys, come on out"

Soon, three guys came out from behind a wall.

All three looked like your typical delinquent street punks you find around the city.

"Why are those three douche bags here?" Temari questioned.

"Hey! What did you call us bitch!" one of the guys spoke.

"Oh look, so the three idiots can speak for themselves!" Temari laughed clapping

"Don't worry guys. You three can have your way with her in a moment. Look Temari or whatever your name is, we knew you wouldn't like our request and take it easily, so we thought that maybe you could use some convincing" They all laughed

"Why? Because you hate the fact that me and Shikamaru are going out?" Temari remarked

They stopped laughing.

"That's right, you heard me. _Me and Shikamaru are going out._ And you know what? We've been going out for _months _now...**months**" Temari exaggerated the last word.

The girls grinded their teeth.

"It hurts to hear the truth doesn't it? I mean, you probably hate hearing that _me and Shikamaru are going out _and that you had no idea until _way_ later. It's sad because you guys are just playing dirty using other people to get back at me instead of doing it yourselves. What total chickens. I guess your love for him wasn't that strong was it?" Temari grinned

"That's it! Shut this bitch up guys!"

The girls moved away and the three delinquents charged towards Temari.

Temari took her stance.

* * *

Hinata ran around to all of the classrooms and found Shikamaru.

Shikamaru saw her beckoning at him and he made an excuse to the teacher to leave class.

"What's wrong Hinata?" Shikamaru asked the panting Hinata.

Hinata took a deep breath, "T-Temari...she was called by...some...girls from another class!"

Shikamaru looked at her shocked, "Who were they?"

"I-I think one of them was Hitomi and Miraki" Hinata started to steady her breathing

"Shit, not those two. They'll probably get someone else to take care of things...do you know where they went?"

"I think I heard them mention the roof"

"Alright, thanks Hinata. I know you're skipping class, but can you also find the other girls and see if anything is happening on their end?"

Shikamaru ran off towards the roof.

'_Please tell me nothing has happened to you yet Temari. Those two girls are known to have their connections and playing dirty. Geez, of course you troublesome woman only attract even more troublesome ones'_ Shikamaru cursed to himself.

He continued to travel up the stairs and finally reached the door to the roof.

He quickly opened it to see Temari deliver a final blow kick to one of the guys who fell onto the floor in pain.

Temari then turned her head quickly to face the girls who were cowering in a corner.

She walked up to them and they squealed pleading for her forgiveness.

"Look, don't mess with me or my friends ever again or you'll end up worse than those three over there" Temari tilted her head at the three guys groaning in pain on the floor.

The girls nodded their head and Temari walked off back to the door to see Shikamaru.

"Oh, Shikamaru. What are you doing here?" she asked as if everything was peachy.

Shikamaru just stared at her gobsmacked, _'God, she's scarier than my mother...'_

"Y-You finished them all up by yourself?" Shikamaru stuttered a bit overwhelmed.

Temari just smiled triumphantly baring all of her teeth.

"Yeah, they weren't all that bad. I mean, if the guys all attacked at once it may have been a problem, but since they just attacked one by one, it was pretty easy. Like three short rounds I guess" Temari continued to smile.

"H-How...?" Shikamaru was still stunned

"Oh, didn't I tell you? My siblings and I have received self-defence training for YEARS just in case we get kidnapped since our father's a big shot and all..."

Shikamaru then thought for a bit and then laughed,_ 'That explains a hell of a lot about Temari and how she is'_

"What? What's so funny?"

Shikamaru just continued to laugh.

* * *

In the end, Ino had gathered enough dirt about all of the girls to blackmail them to shut up and stop bothering them.

Sakura shut the persistent ones up very easily.

Neji had properly announced that him and Tenten were an item during a bully attack on her.

They were all so stunned they continued no further.

And attacks on Hinata were stopped during all of this.

They had all laughed when they heard Temari had beaten up her share of bullies.

Temari still couldn't understand why that was so.

So a few days had passed and everything had turned back to normal.

They all walked Ino to her locker and when she opened it, a purple letter flew out of it.

"Ah geez, I thought it was over already!" she cursed and opened it.

They all read it and screamed out at the same time, "A FASHION SHOW CHALLENGE?! AGAINST DEIDARA?!"

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter

I hope you enjoyed it

I thought it would be nice to take a little break from Akatsuki and bring back some high school drama that we haven't had in a while!

Next chapter is the battle with the Akatsuki again between Ino and Deidara.

The whole reason why I did the first round dice choice thing was so these two could battle it out.

I reckon it could turn out funny.

Please review guys!

It's much appreciated!

Can't wait to hear from you all!

Chanel~


	24. An Insulting Proposition & BIKINIS!

Another long wait…my bad!

Gomene, gomeneeeee~

_**ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR KONOHA HIGH!**_

Thanks to those who have stuck with me the whole time and those who have just come and all those in between!

I'll treasure your reviews and views forever!

Ok, so some responses to the reviews I've received.

One thing, my spelling is perfectly fine~

Let me explain:

I'm from Australia, therefore we have changed some spelling rules to differ from the Americans.

We like to add a 'u' next to 'o' in some words. Such as 'favorite' which we spell as 'favourite' or 'color' which changes to 'colour' and we spell 'mom' as 'mum'.

We also like to replace 'z' with 's' sometimes too such as 'realize' which we spell as 'realise'

These rules don't apply to every word with an o and z, but to some and there are more of these rules floating around somewhere.

Hope this is clear!

It's not me having poor spelling skills (though I do typo quite a bit -_-) it's the Aussie way!

And I'm Asian by the way XD

Sorry if this is a bother!

Ok well thanks to the following amazing reviewers!

ObesessiveShikaTemaFan; MariLovesKristenStewart; Kunoichi Animagus; idoenjoyanime; y-in-flame; glitz0101; MsEvilbabe; Andra-jordanitza; x Wacky Fairyx; Amacon; the girl in your closet; orangepumpkins; Fuzzfaerie; XeniaKunoixchi; X..X.X; Sjorsie; LadyBella; chubbyass; KoZuMi4EvA45; Coletteee. =]; Sacrificed Angel; Sara ilovemusic11

Thanks to you LEGENDS I've made it to 442 reviews and was able to continue Konoha High for a WHOLE YEAR now!

*applause*

I'm now inspired to become an author after school so support me if you can if it ever happens~

Hehe :D

Alright without further ado, I'll give you CHAPTER 24!

* * *

_To Wannabe Me (aka Ino Yamanaka, I do not blame you)_

_I propose the following challenge to thee as been expected:_

_THE CLASH OF THE FASHION DESIGNERS!_

_You are allowed to collect a team of 10 to model out your own designs, though you yourself won't be participating and will be commentating your own outfits giving a brief description on what your inspiration for the outfit was, etc. (lucky you not having to model and ruin your own designs…which are bad enough)._

_As for the making of the clothing, it can be done however you wish with professionals or what not as long as you are the ONLY one designing the clothing and NO PLAUGURISM (even though I realise you're desperate and have to copy me)._

_It will be held at Annual Fashion Festival where we will be competing against many others, but only our scores will count in this challenge as to who receives the highest score no matter if we win the actual competition or not._

_There will be three judges attending this event._

_The categories are as followed:_

'_Smart Casual'_

'_Fun at the beach' _

'_Night out in the town'_

'_Just Hangin' in the city'_

'_Culture inspired'_

_Each category will have four different outfits representing it._

_If you need any more information, please look at the website._

_Good Luck (even though it won't help you win)_

_Deidara_

As Ino continued to read down the invitation, the vein popping out of her forehead kept increasing in size.

"THAT RAT TRY HARD! HOW DARE HE INSULT ME! HE'S GOING DOWN BIG TIME!" she screeched at the top of her lungs as her face blew up red.

Everyone in the hall and around the locker bay stopped in their tracks and stared at her.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL STARING AT? DON'T YOU ALL HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE RIGHT NOW?"

They all quickly ran off in their own direction scattering across the school.

"Now, now…calm down Ino" Sakura put her hands up in front of herself in defence.

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN AFTER RECEIVING SO MANY INSULTS FROM A TOTAL DUD IN FASHION?" Ino exclaimed, took a deep breathe and spoke again, "Look we have to win anyway and I want revenge!"

"Ok Ino we know, but the question is, who is gonna be the models?" Tenten wondered.

"You guys of course" Ino replied nonchalantly.

'WHAT?"

That got Temari's attention.

"Hey! I never said I was gonna model!" Temari argued

"Sure you are!" Ino smiled menacingly, "I've already decided. You and Shikamaru are gonna pair up to be models, this also applies to Tenten and Neji, Sakura and Kankurou or maybe Gaara…I would choose Lee…but well…y'know fashion wise, Hinata and Kiba and Sasuke and Naruto. I will help the girls change and Chouji will be my assistant to help change the guys. It works out PERFECTLY"

"Hell no am I gonna model!" Temari denied yet again not impressed.

"Well, are you just gonna let the team down and tell Deidara we can't participate and forfeit because we're down a model?" Ino pressured Temari.

"Get someone else to do it! Also, Gaara would definitely say no. Kankurou you may be able to convince since he's pretty up himself" Temari commented.

"Oh THANKS Temari. Why is it every time I go find you, you're ALWAYS saying shit about me?" Kankurou gritted his teeth annoyed.

The rest of the guys were behind him.

"Coincidence" Temari shrugged.

"What are you girls talking about anyway?" Naruto asked curiously popping his head out.

"Ino finally got her challenge invite" Tenten explained briefly.

"REALLY? WHAT'S THE CHALLENGE? A CHIC FIGHT? PLEASE SAY IT'S A CHIC FIGHT!" Kiba barked in excitement.

"Kiba-man…Deidara, her opponent, is a GUY" Kankurou explained.

"WHAT? I thought it was a chic!" Kiba snapped in surprised.

"Definitely male" Neji nodded.

"It says so on all of his files" Shikamaru agreed.

"Ahh man…that's so weird" Kiba remarked.

"Don't tell me you were having thoughts like 'Ah she's so hot' or 'I'll tap that' Kiba" Naruto grinned.

"Eww man, of course not! I just _presumed_ it was a girl since his style was similar to Ino's y'know" Kiba laughed

Ino's ears turned red.

"Oh NICE one Kiba…don't get Ino started again" Sakura scoffed annoyed

"No, I'm going to stay calm, change my hairstyle, find my notepad and start drawing" Ino quoted seemingly riled up.

"What is the challenge exactly?" Sasuke asked.

"Fashion competition" Sakura answered

"What? Fashion competition?" Kiba questioned making sure he heard right.

"Yep, and you are all going to be my models. Don't mention this to Lee by the way, unfortunately he can't participate and Gaara, you're not in it since Temari mentioned you don't like these things" Ino confirmed

Gaara nodded happily and walked off with Kankurou since they had class unlike the others.

"Wait! Neither do I! Exempt me from this too!" Temari begged.

"No Temari, I need you in it and the same goes for the rest of you. NO arguing"

Everyone started to complain at once, but in the end Ino won them over and skipped off to the bathroom to fix her hair.

She came back with her hair in pigtails.

"That's cute" Tenten commented.

"Kinda reminds me of someone…" Kiba thought to himself for a moment.

"Yeah, Naruto" Shikamaru answered for him.

Sasuke blushed.

"Oh yeah! That day Naruto disguised himself as a girl. He wore a wig in pigtails that looks like Ino's hair now" Kiba came to the realisation.

"Sasuke…why are you blushing?" Naruto asked innocently.

He could see through Sasuke's eyes that he was reminiscing on something, flushed even brighter and looked away; "Shut up Dobe" he managed to say.

Naruto looked at him confused.

"Ugh, I don't want to remind people of NARUTO when they see me. I'm going to change it again" Ino rushed off back into the bathroom.

"Hey! What's wrong with me?" Naruto whined.

"Naruto my man, the question is 'What is NOT wrong with you'" Kiba teased.

Naruto gave him a friendly punch.

Ino kept walking in and out and finally just settled for her usual ponytail since everything else was rejected.

Then she walked off in thought about the upcoming competition.

"I can't believe we let Ino sucker us into modelling…" Shikamaru sighed

"Hey, it can't be THAT bad Shikamaru!" Kiba grinned.

"I'm not totally convinced either…" Neji gave a look of total dismay

"Geez, do I have to spell it out for you guys? Look, gather here!" Kiba beckoned all of the guys to one spot away from the girls.

"I heard that there's a theme that requires 'bathing suits' and knowing Ino, it won't mean boorish one pieces, it'll be skimpy bikinis" Kiba sniggered to himself, "Aren't you guys the LEAST bit curious about which girl is gonna model for that?"

All the guys then looked towards the girls.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Sakura wondered.

"I-I don't know…" Hinata stuttered out.

"Can't be anything good" Tenten sighed

"Probably something stupid and dirty" Temari scoffed.

"Y-You can't know that for sure Temari!" Hinata started to flush a little with her pale skin turning a light shade of pink.

"Trust me, when you have two careless brothers, you learn a thing or two about guys…especially with Kankurou" Temari showed a face of disgust, "All I know is that they are definitely NOT discussing the weather or about their next test"

The guys turned back into their little huddle.

"Ok, I'm in" Shikamaru folded.

Naruto snickered, "Shikamaru's a perv"

Sasuke grinned in agreement.

"Shut up" Shikamaru pouted.

"Hey, it's only natural!" Kiba laughed loudly.

"This is childish" Neji flicked his hair about to walk away, "Thoughts such as those won't convince me"

Kiba grabbed a hold of his shoulder, "Wait a moment Neji!"

He then whispered in Neji's ear, "If you back out and Tenten stays in, then Tenten would get a different partner leaving her 'bikini' self vulnerable for that lucky guy's eyes for the WHOLE time. Do you want that?"

The question was obviously rhetorical.

"Alright I guess I'm going to being helping out in this challenge" Neji gave in reluctantly.

"WOO!" Kiba celebrated glad that everyone seemed to be ok in participating.

The remaining guys joined up with the rest of the girls.

"Geez, I'm still not ok with thing…" Temari sighed

"Why?" Naruto asked

"It's such a bother having to 'prep up' with make up and clothes and having to show it off and 'flaunt it' in front of an audience" Temari complained.

"Oh come on, it's not like you're doing your own make up and you change clothes all the time everyday! Plus you only have to walk a few meters, which is nothing. You don't really have to flaunt it either, they're looking at the clothes, not the person for a potential model" Kiba reasoned out.

"I guess he does have a point. I mean we should help and support Ino in this" Sakura agreed.

Hinata nodded in agreement.

"I guess…" Tenten gave in

Temari sighed and looked at Shikamaru painfully, "Alright I'll do it…but doesn't mean I'll enjoy it"

"Guess that's all of us then~" Kiba cooed.

So time had passed and Ino had finally finished her designs.

"Guys!" she cried, "I've finished the clothing designs!"

"Great! Let's have a look" Tenten smiled happily.

Everyone was gathered in a circle in the yard at the usual place.

Lee had gone on a camping trip with Gai for 'special training'.

Everyone skimmed through her portfolio.

"They all look really awesome Ino!" Sakura complimented.

"You wi-will definitely win with this" Hinata confirmed.

"Aww thanks guys!" Ino beamed.

"The question is: How are we going to get these made?" Neji wondered.

"The festival is in three weeks time" Sasuke reminded.

"Well first, let's look at the material. Most of the material seems to be a cotton and polyester blend which you can purchase at any material shop. Latex might be a little hard to obtain in the colours you want, but may be possible. The hardest is the silk for the Culture set as well as the harder material for the armour. Pricey and hard to obtain in itself, let alone in the colour you wish" Shikamaru reasoned

"I've already settled the outer armour material with some connections I have" Ino confirmed, "As for the silk…I know where to get the best in town for a reasonable price" she grinned.

They all looked at her weirdly.

"Shino"

The whole group walked together around the school grounds.

Still receiving greasy, cold stares from many girls, but they didn't try anything.

"Where would he be?" Sakura wondered

"Who knows?" Kiba asked rhetorically, "That guy has always been hard to understand"

"Alright, that's it! There's no point in wandering around aimlessly. Shikamaru!" Ino ordered, "Use that brain of yours and figure it out!"

Shikamaru groaned in protest.

"Who's Shino?" Temari asked curiously.

"A rather…peculiar guy. You'll understand him best when you seem him. Just remember, MAJOR bug fan, be careful not to get angry at a fly and kill it ok?" Shikamaru replied.

"Come on Shikamaru, we haven't got all day" Ino continued to order.

"Tch! Troublesome…" Shikamaru sat in thought reluctantly.

After a couple of minutes, he got up and started walking towards the edge of the school yard.

The others followed.

He stopped at a tree and knocked on it.

Temari gave him a really weird look.

'_What's knocking on a tree going to solve?'_

"Who's knocking?" An unfamiliar voice to Temari asked.

"It's Shikamaru. We need some of your services"

Suddenly a dark figure jumped out of the tree.

Temari put her guard up just to see a boy with black, spiky, uncontrollable hair wearing sunglasses and had covered his face with his scarf.

'_Definitely peculiar_' Temari thought.

"How can I help you?" the guy named Shino asked.

"Hey Shino, you're family still makes silk out of your silkworms?" Ino questioned.

"Yes"

"Do you think I could purchase some?" Ino proposed.

Shino nodded and they started discussing details.

Then they all thanked Shino and walked off.

"What was he doing in the tree?" Temari asked.

"Probably talking to his little bug friends" Naruto replied laughing

"He talks…to bugs?" Temari said in a rather strange tone.

"Yes, sort of like how you talk to your pet dog or cat" Neji replied

"Ooook…" Temari didn't ask any further.

"Well now all we need to know is how we are going to get all of the outfits made in time…" Sakura wondered

"Oh don't worry, Ino and I have already found a solution" Chouji grinned

"What?" Everyone asked simultaneously.

"Well I was able to persuade daddy to hire some people to make them so as soon as we finish gathering the material, we are set to go!" Ino squealed in excitement.

"Your 'daddy' was able to hire people?" Temari questioned

"Oh you don't know? My daddy is one of those 'corp. head' people. Finding people is easy"

"It's Ino's mum who takes care of their florist" Shikamaru continued.

"Yeah, mum does it as a hobby to pass time since she doesn't really need to work to earn money. Normally she'll be home to look after me, but as soon as I grew up old enough to look after myself, she became bored so then daddy bought her a florist to look after as an anniversary present" Ino explained.

'_What a practical anniversary present'_ Temari thought to herself.

"Well anyway, my house this weekend to get measured and fitted! Don't forgot or you'll have to pay!" Ino laughed and then skipped off to class since the bell had just gone.

Everyone agreed, more or less, and also scattered off to their own classes.

The competition has yet to come, but is creeping closer and there were still a lot of things still needed to get done.

Unfortunately, Temari wasn't expecting what situation she was going to be put in at Ino's house on the weekend.

* * *

Shino has made his appearance

More on him later ;D

Wow it's late!

My eye lids are SUPER heavy at the moment.

But this was the only time I was able to write a new chapter (which I apologise again for being so late).

Also neglecting homework helped.

Anyway sorry if there are typos but I seriously can't see at the moment since my eyelids keep closing.

Oh sorry for it being a bit short…but I'm a bit short on time in terms of collapsing.

Please review! You've all been doing great so far and I highly appreciate it.

I'm constantly going back and reading them all again.

Hope everyone has a nice week!

Chanel~


	25. Girly and Not So Friendly Competition

Hello everyone I'm back!

Ok, I'm SERIOUSLY sorry for such the long wait but I have legitimate reasons!

You don't have to listen, you can skip if you like

Ok, so the last time I updated was just before exam preparation, so I've been practicing for exams for two weeks, then I did my exams for a week, then straight afterwards I had to perform for three concerts (playing piano) so I've been practicing and performing, then STRAIGHT AFTERWARDS (literally the day after) I went to JAPAN for the whole of the holidays!

Which was the best!

And then I came back thinking 'yay I have time'…I was wrong. I had to catch up on heaps of holiday homework which took a whole week and then BAM, the next set of assessed tasks and tests came at me (being in year 11) which are important and I've been stuck with school up until now and an anime convention has just ended for me and I took time making my WHOLE costume as well (as a Pikachu-humanised).

Also, I'll being heading off to CHINA in a week for another school thing!

I'll be performing at the Shanghai World Expo in the Australian Pavilion, so I've also been busy practicing for this since I will be performing on a stage catered for around 2000 people to watch! Definitely not a time to stuff up D:

That's my busy busy life…

Well moving on I'M SO SORRY FOR BREAKING MY PROMISE! I SWEAR I LOVE ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS!

I have been reading them and enjoying them and cherishing them!

Thank you so much and I was thinking of going on a 'hiatus' but I thought twice due to the reviews and inbox messages I've received.

To these lovely people: glitz0101; Godric's Heiress; MsEvilbabe; CatDevilAsian; the girl in your closet; Andra-jordanitza; IDoEnjoyAnime; KoZuMi4EvA45; Sleepihead; erraticsea; orangepumpkins; ObsessiveShikaTemaFan; LadyBella; KunoichiAnimagusUzume; Dutchman Sjorsie; Cute Hatter; Amacon; bittersweet-temari; y-in-flame; XeniaKunoichi; Ayamichan34; Hikari-Suzume; Temariwolf84; D1000100; Elizabeth Fae; Ulqyfangirl27; iceyfoxgrl2; Pipychi; Ben D; XxThe Dark AngelxX; mangaloverk; Stelladiep; TemariShika234; MoreThanABitCrazy; rin; Aslickain Kiant; hehehehe; sassypants123; Random Narutard; ILoverateYew; Ixaliastrife; Random retard modified 56.0; Effie-a; Patrick; Valerie Sabrina Verzoe

I'll try my hardest not to fail you again so keep it up~

Ok, without further ado, I shall stop blabbering and get back to my story writing.

Sorry if you have lost where you are…but we're up to the model show now.

I've also got a new idea for a new story! But that won't come around until KH is finished

Please do enjoy!

Oh and an 'obi' is the piece of fabric wrapped around a kimono acting as a belt to keep the clothing together.

* * *

'Come on Temari! Come out so we can see~" Ino cooed convincingly

'No way am I putting this thing on!" Temari yelled back through the door setting her and Ino apart.

"It's not a _thing_, it's all of my blood, sweat and tears put together in a masterpiece so stop complaining and GET OUT HERE!' Ino ordered losing a bit of patience as time went by.

"What blood, sweat and tears? You didn't actually MAKE this. I hardly call drawing and throwing orders everywhere effort" Temari scoffed

"Fine then, just stop wasting my money that I spent making my workers making that outfit and get out here with it on"

Temari didn't know how to reply because she was probably right, so in the end she just said, "Just give me my clothes back already"

Temari paused to think to herself about how she keeps getting herself into these situations.

What happened was…

She walked into Ino's grand mansion that she called 'home' as promised to get 'fitted' for the show.

She was guided in by Ino's butler.

Everyone was already there and they were staring at the hangers with all sorts of clothing on it.

There was a lot of chatter going on about who was wearing what asking the usual questions as Temari apologised that Kankuro couldn't come.

All of the sudden, a maid behind Temari accidently got knocked in the rush and spilt Sakura's Raspberry Lemonade all over Temari.

Ino quickly dashed her to the bathroom and told her to take a shower otherwise she would be all sticky and uncomfortable.

Which is why Temari did as she was told and jumped into the shower.

It felt good, _real_ good.

The shower was the size of most people's bathrooms itself.

She couldn't help but goggle at the pristine white room nicely tiled and clean that she was in.

She then realised that Ino's 'house' probably has many more even bigger and better bathrooms and that she was only in the 'guest' one.

Then Ino (the cunning girl she is) came in, the shower was separate with a foggy screen door, and told her politely that she was going to wash her clothes before they stain.

She also said that she was going to leave some clothes behind for her to change into.

Temari didn't think much of it. Sounded like a good plan at the time.

But now, she was really regretting it…

"I swear Temari, I have the key right here to unlock this door and I'm going to open it. If you haven't got changed then your bad luck" Ino threatened.

"You wouldn't dare" Temari hissed

"Oh really? Oh look. What a coincidence. Hey guys!" Ino called out. Temari knew she was no longer talking to her anymore, "Come over here for a second' Ino continued

Temari could hear a few heavy footsteps.

"Hey Temari. The guys are here!" Ino called out loud and clear.

"Why did you call us over for Ino?" a boy sounding a lot like Kiba asked.

"Yeah Ino" Naruto added in

Shikamaru sighed.

"Oh, you'll see" Ino chimed, "I'm serious Temari I'm going to count to three"

"One" Ino called out.

Temari could hear the key go into the lock_. "Don't phase yet Temari, she's bluffing" _Temari thought to herself.

"Two" Ino called out and turned the key.

"Seriously, what is going on?" Naruto asked

Temari realised that she probably wasn't kidding.

She quickly fumbled around trying to put on the unfamiliar clothing.

A quick thought of Déjà vu came over her.

It really reminded her of the Cultural Festival.

"Three" Ino cried as the door knob turned and slowly opened.

Ino opened it as slow as possible waiting for a word of protest just in case Temari hadn't finished changing yet,

She didn't _really_ want Temari to be seen naked in front of the guys.

She wasn't _that_ angry…or mean.

After hearing no protest, just a couple of struggling noises, she opened the door fully swung back.

It uncovered a Temari decked out in a purple, halter neck bikini with a matching sarong, lined with black with a symbol that looked similar to the letter 'i' but in a block font printed on the top, left side of her bikini.

The bottoms had a picture of a fan on the right hip.

The guys' jaws dropped open.

Temari gave no eye contact feeling violated with all of them ogling at her.

"I seriously don't see what the fuss was all about Temari! Sometimes you can be so silly!" Ino laughed in victory

"So…embarrassing…' Temari muttered through clenched teeth.

"Ok, I never would've guessed that Temari had such a body…" Kiba gasped

Naruto nodded with his jaw still hanging, "Yeah, look at that rack-"

Shikamaru cut him off by smacking his head as well as Kiba for his previous comment.

"Oww" They both complained.

Temari continued to curse inside her head wishing to die right then until the gazes came off her when the rest of the girls walked in.

"Ohh~" Sakura cooed. She was wearing a pink kimono with cherry blossom patterns scattered all over it, especially on the hems. Though the obi and such weren't on yet, only the robe itself and a piece of fabric holding it together, tied around her waist, "Wow Temari. You have the perfect bikini model body and looks"

Temari didn't know whether she would take this as a compliment or not.

"Sh-Sh-She's right" Hinata stuttered a little hiding herself behind Sakura so Temari couldn't see what she was wearing either.

"Hmm, toned body, flat stomach, well proportioned, not to mention tanned to boot! It really suits the 'beachy look'" Tenten nodded her head in agreement while she was analysing Temari's body

Tenten was wearing what looked like a Chinese orientated outfit.

'_Culture Inspired I guess'_ Temari thought to herself.

"Look, can we all stop looking at me now? I've had enough embarrassment for a life time now…" Temari sighed feeling her cheeks burn up slightly

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about! You look fantastic, Shikamaru's probably going wild because he hasn't been able to look at you straight since, so all is good" Ino giggled

"What does Shikamaru have to do with this?" Temari raised an eyebrow.

"Leave me out of this fuss…so troublesome" Shikamaru mumbled scratching the back of his head as he walked away.

Soon everyone did the same bustling around with outfits and pieces of cloth flying everywhere trying to figure out some of Ino's more complicated designs.

In the end all was sorted out and all that was left was to permanently fix the alterations…but that was Ino's workers job.

After a long and tiring day they all went to the next room and collapsed onto the couches and various beanbags in the room.

Temari threw herself at the couch and sighed a long tired sigh.

The actual modelling competition was coming around soon and she wasn't sure if she had the confidence to perform well either.

Sure talking in front a whole bunch of people saying a speech was fine, or wearing some kind of big fancy dress in a hall full of very high classed citizens in one of those functions her father made her attend to while keeping a very high classed image herself in front of all of the snobs was fine as well.

But wearing a full out bikini in front of a bunch of people she didn't know watching as they judge every aspect of the clothes she wore (or the little of it) as well as herself…she wasn't so sure.

The maid came around to her with ice cream (chocolate chip, her favourite) and a soda and she swallowed it down fast not realising that she was actually quite hungry and dehydrated.

Although the ice cream didn't really help her hunger.

"You ok there?" Shikamaru looked down at her on the couch with his hands in his pockets and an eyebrow raised slightly.

"Just a little dehydrated I guess" Temari answered non-chalantly

Shikamaru shrugged and sat next to her on the couch.

"Hey, who said you can sit here?" Temari argued

Shikamaru shrugged yet again, "Its Ino's couch, not yours and she said I could sit wherever so I am"

"Well there's a whole bunch of other seats you can sit on. Why does it have to be this one?"

"Check again" Shikamaru indicated towards everyone else

There was no other free seating. Everyone was sitting in their usual pairs although Sakura was by herself on the single beanbag.

Temari huffed, "Whatever"

Shikamaru took that as an 'ok' and sat comfortably next to her on the large couch.

Ino chucked on a random show on TV and everyone talked for a little while.

"Ok listen up guys!" Ino clapped her hands to gather attention, "Come by tomorrow. You all need to learn how to walk on the runway correctly. I wouldn't want you all up their embarrassing yourselves with poor posture while wearing my designs now would I?"

Temari sighed yet again, _'I REALLY can't wait until this is over and done with'_

"Well it's time for us to head off Ino, it's nearly time to go see Tsunade now" Sakura said standing up

"Hmm…I need to go talk to my dad as well…" Chouji grunted

"Yeah, Asuma's probably waiting to finish off our game…" Shikamaru shrugged

"Guess that means I'm off too since if Ino's leaving, so will the rest of us"

Hence, everyone got out of their comfortable groove created in their seats and left.

"Oi, Temari! You walking home?" Shikamaru called out to the sand blonde

"Yeah, it's a nice night to go out for a walk, don't you reckon?" Temari looked up at the clear night sky full of stars and smiled

"I'll walk you home then. Women shouldn't walk around at night by themselves"

"There you go with the whole 'women this, women that' talk"

"Well it's true. Society is so dangerous and rough now. Women are vulnerable"

"You know what? I think you should just shut up. I can defend myself well enough thank you very much. Forget walking me home" Temari then walked a little bit faster ahead of Shikamaru slightly infuriated.

"Alright troublesome woman, I won't say anymore so let me walk you the rest of the way"

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes I will Temari"

"No you won't _Shikamaru_"

The repetitive conversation continued until they reached the front gates of Temari's property.

"Well now there's no point of me saying 'no' anymore since we're already here" Temari pointed out wishing that she spent that time walking on a better conversational topic.

You know, one that doesn't consist of only two words.

"Heh, I guess so" Shikamaru mentally grinned

There was an awkward silence.

"Well I better go before Asuma gets on my case for being late" Shikamaru said looking upwards

"What for? Why are you going to see a teacher for at this time and on a weekend?"

Shikamaru stood there and thought to himself, "To simply put it. He's my trainer"

"Trainer for what?"

"Uh…I guess fighting sums it up"

"What? Fighting? You mean with this whole Akatsuki thing?"

"Yes, for once I think I do need to take something seriously, after all, yourself is at stak-" Shikamaru cut himself off realising what he was about to say.

"Ohh, what's that? I didn't quite catch that" Temari grinned devilishly.

"I was just saying how I need to take things more seriously" Shikamaru quickly replied getting a little bit flustered mentally, although he was able to keep his usual cool face.

"Ah huh, pretty sure you had something else to say"

"I don't. See you later" Shikamaru turned around and walked fast in the opposite direction

'_Why? For some reason I just feel like grabbing him, but that would be weird wouldn't it? I'm so tempted to though. Should I? Shouldn't I? He's moving away now I have to decide fast! Oh what the heck!'_ Temari contemplated

Suddenly Shikamaru felt someone grab the back of his hood of his jumper and fell into some kind of embrace.

'_After all we are technically going out'_ Temari justified herself

"Thanks for walking me home" she quickly whispered into Shikamaru's back and ran into her house embarrassed.

Shikamaru stood still for a moment processing the recent events and then continued to walk.

Temari slumped at her door thinking, _'WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?'_

The next few days went by in a flash after many torturous lessons of cat-walking from Ino's hired trainer and continuous dressing up.

Finally the day of the competition came.

Temari entered the hall where the competition was meant to be held and suddenly felt a gust of inferiority.

She could tell straight away as soon as she set a foot in that this was not a place where she belonged.

It's was all very superficial with a room full of bustling participants running amok doing last minute preparations and bright lights and big black curtains hanging everywhere.

Many people were dressed up in fancy clothing made out of very expensive material with crazy designs.

This was no local competition…forget that! It looked like half of the participants were from a different country!

And she was meant to walk and be judged by all of these people?

'_Not a chance'_ Temari thought as she turned around to walk off

She was stopped when she accidently bumped into someone standing behind her.

"Yo, you're going the wrong way" a familiar voice pointed out

Temari stepped back a bit to look up at the man who was talking.

Of course it was Shikamaru.

"There's no point backing out Temari. We have to be in this together…as much as I think that this is troublesome and rather unnecessarily uncomfortable, we don't have any other option than to carry through with the plan. This is still a real competition with the Akatsuki remember" Shikamaru spoke

"I know, there's no need to lecture me…" when Temari's eyes focused on Shikamaru she then realised that this isn't the usual Shikamaru.

His hair was done properly all styled with some hardcore wax and out of its usual ponytail.

"Are…you wearing make up?" Temari asked innocently as she moved closer to get a better look.

Shikamaru's face started to flush, enough to see it under the layer of foundation.

"Sh-shut up. Ino insisted and it's really hard to say no to her when she's under this much stress. Stupid, troublesome woman"

"Whoa, your comments on woman escalated" Temari pointed out

All of the sudden a random girl fell onto Shikamaru accidently.

Accidently on purpose that is.

"Oh! I'm _so _sorry! I guess I'm still clumsy in these heels after all~" The random girl cooed cheekily with an innocent voice

'_That voice is obviously put on'_ Temari thought to herself.

Then suddenly the random girl pushed Temari out of the way, out of the picture and stuck to Shikamaru like glue.

"Please let me introduce myself~ My name is Rika Nozomi and I'll be modelling for a designer here entering the competition. I'm guessing you're a model too?" she batted her eyelashes sweetly.

Temari felt like she was going to puke.

'_Ok girly. It's one thing to just make a move like a stupid little innocent girl, but it's another thing to push me out of the way as if I don't exist!'_ Temari started to burn up a little.

'Rika' had long, brown, wavy, bouncy hair, crystal blue eyes, a small face, was around Temari's height, long arms and legs, rosy cheeks, long eyelashes, high cheekbones and large, doe-like eyes that could give Hinata a run for her money.

Temari admitted that she was gorgeous.

She also admitted that Shikamaru's little 'makeover' made him look extremely hot and would explain the sudden attention.

"Ah, yeah I'm just helping a friend out by modelling" Shikamaru answered in his usual cool, calm and collected voice.

'_Dammit, don't put on your calm, disinterested voice! That will definitely keep the girls stringing along! Wait a minute…why the hell do I care? Don't tell me I feel inferior to this stupid 'oops I fell' girl?'_ Temari pondered in her mind arguing with herself.

Temari flicked her head side to side.

This 'Rika' wasn't the only one. Multiple girls in the room were staring at Shikamaru with hazy eyes.

'_Of course they would! He's super popular at school in his baggy uniform and rather lazy appearance, so that popularity would just amplify if he's all stylish with his hair and appearance wearing nice clothing even if we're not at school'_ Temari thought coming to a realisation.

"Oh~ that's _so_ kind of you working for free to help a friend out. I would LOVE a friend like that!" Rika continued with a little giggle at the end.

Alright, Temari definitely had enough playing as the doormat.

"Sorry to interrupt, but would you mind being a little bit gentler when you just suddenly, rudely push me aside lie that?" Temari smiled a fake innocent smile

Sent shivers up Shikamaru's spine, but it didn't seem to faze Rika all that much.

"Did I really? So sorry I didn't really see you there. I guess I was just 'caught up' in the moment" Rika apologised with an apologetic look on her face, although her tone didn't quite match.

'_Stupid bitch_' Temari muttered mentally

"Hmm I guess not everyone has the capacity to be able to focus on more than one thing at a time" Temari spoke still smiling though the right corner was just twitching slightly.

Rika giggled sarcastically, "I guess not"

There was a bit of a cold stalemate.

Shikamaru stayed quiet not wanting to be involved. _'Women…'_ He thought

"So what are you here for?" Rika asked batting her large eyelashes yet again

"I'm also here helping a friend out by modelling" Temari answered with a smile still plastered on her face.

Rika scanned Temari.

Temari had her hair up as usual and she was just wearing some comfy clothing since she had to change out of it anyway.

"Really now? How very KIND of you" Rika said sarcastically, also smiling

'_Stupid, STUPID, ANNOYING BITCH!' _Temari continued to curse inside her head.

"Oh no, no effort at _all_" Temari declared while waving her hand.

"I guess that makes us rivals" Rika noted

"I was just about to say the same thing" Temari commented

After yet another stalemate, Temari walked over to Shikamaru's side, "I guess we better start moving Shikamaru. Might as well go together since we're modelling _partners_ and all" Temari purposely amplified the word 'partners'.

Rika gave a tad shocked look but quickly returned to normal and continued to smile.

"See you soon then"

"I guess so"

Temari then grabbed Shikamaru's hand and dragged him towards the back of the stage.

When they were nearly where they were meant to be, Shikamaru finally spoke, "You're rather interesting when you're jealous aren't you?"

Temari stopped but didn't let go of his hand, "I wasn't jealous. I just hate girls like her using conniving tricks to get away with things acting all innocent and worst of all, ACTING LIKE I DIDN'T EXIST!"

Shikamaru laughed, "Alright I get it"

"Hey you two! What do you think you're doing? We're already behind schedule and OMG TEMARI why aren't you done up yet?" Ino complained rushing towards them and dragging them behind the set without another word.

After dragging them to the back, the M.C. suddenly says, "Let the show begin!"

* * *

Well that's all for now

I hope it's alright!

I tried my hardest!

My next update hopefully won't be too far away~

I will try to bring it out much MUCH faster…I was just caught up this time.

I am going to China but I'll definitely find time to update sometime (after all I'm only going away for two weeks)

Please review if possible!

I may not reply, but I read every single one whole heartedly and it does give me great encouragement!

Thank you and 'til next time!

Chanel~

P.S. To those of you who ask, I'm definitely NOT dropping this series since I've been receiving many lovely reviews and I definitely will finish this story because I would hate to make you think that you've wasted your time reading and reviewing it

P.P.S I have changed my username to 'Monochromatic Persona' so watch out for that :D


	26. Exposed

Hey guys!

Do not worry! I'm not dropping this series

Never ever think that ok?

I wouldn't with all of the support I've been getting

Seriously, thank you all HEAPS for following me

I thought I might've found time after China, but nope. Not a chance.

Exams weighed me down heavily and I felt like I was going to die with an asian mother cracking a whip to keep me focused

But now I've FINALLY finished all of my exams so here I am with free time on my hands writing up the next chapter

I wouldn't want to do anything else at the moment :D

So thanks to the following VERY patient reviewers: glitz0101; MsEvilbabe; D1000100; Dutchman Sjorsie; Hikari-Suzume; Effie-a; Random retard modified 56.0; orangepumpkins; Aslickain Kiant; wintersnow4ever; XeniaKunoichi; Sofanjie; VampireKitty-chan; KoZuMi4EvA45; xAlternativexMusicxGirlx; ObsessiveShikaTemaFan; .Alowed; xxiluvshikatemaxx; Geck09; IDoEnjoyAnime; CottonCandy4Sale; tt; Skylove/Nahina; Obidixwanovic; wintercrystal; half-breed-demon-fox; ShikaTemaForEVer; charoes monxrow; ObsessionThe-never-ending-wait; .Temari. .Killer. .Kunoichi.

Please continue to support me!

Ok, next goal in life, update within two weeks!

I have no excuse since NO MORE SCHOOL!

WOOPPP!

Though I do have a life, so I won't be updating everyday or anything, but definitely more frequently!

Ok, onto the story~

* * *

'_Ok, seriously. How do models handle this everyday?'_ Temari thought to herself as she was being push, pulled and prodded at.

The fact that OTHER people would be dressing her never came across her mind, since at Ino's house during rehearsals she did the dressing herself.

Though this was the real deal.

She was treated like a real professional model being all dressed up and being ordered around to move here and there

It was highly uncomfortable having people 'touching' her in awkward places and constantly gawking at her whether the clothes were sitting on her body right or not and whether they have enough tape holding up gaping parts of the outfit.

Luckily, she was allowed to dress herself for the bikini.

As she was getting dressed she heard a loud voice belting out on the microphone.

"HELLO EVERYONE! My name is Chihiro Hideki and I am one of your judges for tonight, but I thought I would give hosting a try since it seems rather fun~"

'_What a spunky judge'_ Temari thought as she continued getting changed after being slightly startled.

"Tonight we are having a showdown where many high-classed designers all over the world come over and show off their newest and flashiest designs before your very own eyes and I have been given the honour to judge them as to who will be given the award for the Best Designer of the Year! Now without further ado, let's begin! We will start with the designer…"

An unknown French name was mentioned when Temari finally finished and stepped out of the changing room with her bikini on covered with a fluffy robe.

She walked up to her designated make up artist who got to work straight away.

Finally Ino's name was announced and Temari started to feel butterflies in her stomach.

'Smart Casual' theme was to go out first.

This meant Sasuke, Naruto, Tenten and Neji.

Sasuke and Naruto walked out onto the catwalk and all you could here was gasping and high pitched squeals.

Temari peeked at the TV screen showing was what happening on the catwalk and she new why instantly.

Naruto and Sasuke were looking really hot.

Naruto was wearing a shirt and tie, but it was de-shelved on purpose.

His tie was on loosely, pants a little baggy and the shirt slightly untucked in certain parts.

While Sasuke was dressed more tidily with everything in place as it should be.

The difference between the two was the colour scheme and a few slight differences with the cuts, but otherwise, it was nothing but a shirt and a tie.

Although, the thing that made it work was the people wearing it.

The two main 'types' of guys were standing in front of an audience of girls.

You had the playful looking dirt blonde with blue eyes and a cute cheeky smile.

As well and the 'cold and cool' black haired guy with a girlish face and an 'I'm too cool to care' kind of attitude and facial expression.

No doubts girls were swooning left, right and centre.

'_Soon you'll be hearing an ambulance siren and the police coming in to calm the crowd since security would be having a hard time doing so at the moment' _Temari thought to herself

As Temari predicted, certain girls got a bit ahead of themselves and started jumping on the catwalk leaping onto two defenceless boys like a jaguar jumping after its prey.

Well it would've been a lot easier if the two boys were merely defenceless…

Unfortunately, Sasuke doesn't fully understand the meaning of the word 'restraint' and started to freak pushing girls left, right and centre off the stage away from himself.

Not long later Temari could hear sirens and even more sounds of camera shutters.

Finally Sasuke and Naruto came back to backstage covered in claw marks with their clothes dishelved and ripped.

A girl was still clutching on Sasuke's legging being dragged the whole way back.

Ino and Sakura screeched at the sight ordering first aid repeating 'your poor beautiful face' over and over again.

Temari sighed knowing that this is a common occurrence, yet it never ceases to amaze her.

Next came out Tenten and Neji in their own outfits.

Tenten had her hair out of the usual Chinese buns and was all done up elegantly into a French knot.

She had a very pretty dress on with an a-line skirt.

Neji was wearing a shirt with a jacket, no tie.

They were matching somewhat in colour scheme making them look like an item.

Ino was out there as well, after fussing over Sasuke, in a stunning dress answering questions about her designs.

The usual, 'What inspired you to design this outfit' and so on so forth.

Next out was the 'Fun at the Beach' theme.

Temari's stomach dropped.

The moment she was hoping to never come was about to start.

Temari then realised that she hadn't even looked at herself yet since she was so focused on the TV screen.

The make-up artist had finished with her and she was already changed and was just wearing a robe and a 'bib' so that no make up would get on the outfit.

She looked at herself in the mirror slightly shocked.

Her hair was done in a loose, very high ponytail with a couple of loose bit of hair curled and an addition of a couple of hibiscus flowers was placed delicately on her head and she was also wearing very natural light make up.

She couldn't stop staring at herself in the mirror.

She knew the girl in the mirror was her, and it wasn't like the girl in the mirror didn't look like her either.

She did, but something was different.

Maybe the air?

She was glowing, and she felt good.

"Wow Temari, you should wear light makeup all the time and change your hairstyle a bit. You're holding yourself back, you look really pretty" The makeup artist advised looking at Temari pleased, "I hardly applied any makeup, and you've already transformed".

Temari just nodded not taking her eyes off herself.

Then she suddenly took of her robe exposing her bikini-wearing body.

'_Is it possible that self-confidence, the one thing I always thought I would have no matter what, was actually the thing I was missing all this time and was holding me back?'_ she thought to herself

She didn't wake up from her daze until a dark figure came up from behind her in the reflection as well.

It was no other than Shikamaru.

He was simply wearing a pair of dark green board short with some kind of pattern on them.

His hair was half tied up and he stood behind her with one arm behind his head slightly leaning back in a slouched manner.

They didn't say anything, just stared at the mirror.

"Aww, you guys match so well!" a recognisable voice from behind commented

They turned around to see Sakura who was ready for when it was her turn and seemed to have some what gotten over her anger about Sasuke's scratched face.

"Seriously, you guys look great together. You two were MADE for the beach" she smiled

Temari finally woke up from her weird daze and looked at Shikamaru.

'_How can that scrawny kid suit the beach exactly?'_ she thought until she saw Shikamaru's body.

It was far from scrawny.

Let's just say he had great muscle tone.

'_Of course, how could I forget…'_ Temari rethought again looking away before she got a nose bleed or anything

"Temari, Shikamaru! You're on!" a stage crew member called.

"You ready?" Shikamaru asked

"…Yeah…" Temari replied solemnly

"Remember not to be too shocked with what's out there and focus on walking" Shikamaru reminded

"I'll be fine" Temari replied again in a calm manner

'_What's with her?'_ Shikamaru thought to himself raising an eyebrow

"You just worry about yourself. Don't cry or anything alright?" Temari looked at Shikamaru playfully

Shikamaru blushed slightly a little stunned, "Wh-What?"

Temari just gave a big, cheesy smile in return.

They both turned around a corner and then they were out in the open to a massive stage with a room full of bustling people.

Temari paused slightly from a little shock since all she could see was white due to all of the flashes from massive cameras.

They walked out together calmly to the end of the stage where the judges were at.

Before she posed, a certain girl caught her eye.

That girl had a shocked face staring directly at her with her mouth slightly gaped open.

Temari smiled triumphantly striking a strong pose as Shikamaru followed her lead and posed with her.

The girl then pouted slightly and her eyes turned strong and serious, enough to give Gaara a good run for his money.

'_Good, I would've gotten bored if you were weak'_ Temari thought to herself.

On the way back they crossed paths with Hinata and Kiba who were also following the theme.

Hinata wore a cute, pure white pinafore with its skirt flowing rather nicely with a very wide brimmed hat. She was also carrying a white parasol as if to protect her porcelain skin.

While Kiba wore a pair of board shorts as well, in red, and a light, short sleeved hoodie unzipped and a pair of sunglasses placed firmly on his head.

Somehow, Kiba's cheeky, outgoing nature matched Hinata's shy, calming nature really well.

It was like mixing fire and water together, they calmed each other's overwhelming qualities leaving a nice refreshing pool of steam releasing all of your tension.

Temari then snapped out of her analysis hearing her name being called.

She had to rush since she was on next after Sakura and Kankuro.

The next theme on was 'Night out in the town'.

Sakura came out in a purple strapless dress with a floral, swirly pattern printed on it and a ribbon wrapped around her waist.

Kankuro was wearing a white shirt and a matching purple tie with swirly patterns printed on it. He also wore a pair of casual slacks with feint stripes and a vest as well as a snappy hat with the brim curving up.

Surprisingly Sakura's pink hair didn't clash with her outfit and she looked really gorgeous with Kankurou who looked very sophisticated.

Temari then took a look in the mirror again since she had her make up done already and she was completely dressed with her hair done.

She was wearing a long black gown with a split on the side that started mid-thigh. It stuck to her skin rather comfortably, yet it had a nice feel. The only criticism was the slight bit too much cleavage showing since the dress's neck line was cut a bit too far down.

What was more was the fact that all sorts of diamantes patterned under the low cut neck line in an intricate design catching even more attention to her cleavage.

As annoyed as she was that Ino made this little 'alteration' without her knowledge or permission, she admitted she looked pretty good.

She had more make up on with eyeliner, fake lashes, eyeshadow, bronzer; the usual photogenic clubbing make up giving her a smoky, mature look to go along with her mature dress and VERY high heels. Her hair was pulled up in a messy tousled bun with her hair in curls and was held together with a matching diamante clip.

Again a taller man walked up to her from behind showing his reflection in the same mirror as hers, but this time his arms were wrapped around her loosely.

Temari slightly twitched and her eyebrows furrowed unconsciously.

"What are you up to?" she asked the tall man named Shikamaru slightly pouting as if she was bothered and he was causing a nuisance

Whether it was actually true or not.

"Hey don't give me that face, it wasn't my idea-" Shikamaru got cut off with a squeal

"Kyaa~! Perfect! Absolutely perfect!" Ino screamed in excitement, "This is the image I'm for with this theme. A couple-y feel to a black tie masquerade event! Don't forget your masks ok?" she smiled as she continued to bounce around

"As I was saying," Shikamaru continued ignoring Ino, "This was Ino's idea for the theme and it would be good to have the advantage when going against the Akatsuki, which means we have to win this" Then Shikamaru glanced in Ino's direction, "Don't let her fluffy innocence fool you, she's actually one of the scariest woman I've ever known next to mum when you get her angry" and then Shikamaru looked back at Temari, "Well, and you…"

Temari couldn't help but laugh even though she tried to hold it back.

"Temari, Shikamaru! You're on in ten!" A random crew member called.

"Ah, guess we should get moving, they're calling" Shikamaru removed his arms around Temari and walked off towards the stage.

Temari couldn't help but feel cold even though the room was really warm.

She then realised Shikamaru was wearing the usual 'tuxedo', but the jacket had 'tails', like conductors' jackets have during orchestral performances, and a bow tie as well as a pattern embroidered white shirt with a few ruffles at the front.

Temari then broke out of her daze from analysing his outfit and started moving in the same direction.

Although a little too fast to the point she tripped a little losing her shoe but was able to regain balance none of the less

'_Damn heels'_ Temari cursed inside her head

She turned back to pick up her shoe, but she looked up to see that someone else had already beaten her to it.

Looking up was no other than Rika holding her heel in her hands

"You dropped something" Rika pointed out smiling handing Temari her shoe

"Uh..thanks…" Temari thanked cautiously taking the shoe

As Temari was putting the shoe back on, Rika spoke, "I'm rather shocked. I was wondering why you were partnered up with that really hot guy, but seeing you all dolled up makes me realise that you're not half bad yourself"

Her tone was still rather sweet even though it didn't match her words.

"Uh huh…" Temari replied wandering where she was going with this.

"So, what is that hot guy's name? What is your relationship with him? You're just partners right? After all, I can't imagine you being his _girlfriend_ or anything-"

A vein popped in Temari's forehead, "What was that you bi-" Temari was then cut off by someone grabbing her arm

"This is no time to dawdle Temari, lets go, lets go!" Ino demanded dragging her away from Rika towards the stage.

"Good luck now! Be careful not to hurt yourself" Rika waved to Temari smiling.

Then suddenly the smile turned sinister and twisted.

Temari's stomach flipped.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Ino finally finished dragging Temari to where Shikamaru was.

"Now remember guys, couple-y! Its essential so don't mess it up. Be however extreme you like when you pose at the end; just make sure it looks as if you guys are an item…which you ARE! Now go and show them what you got!" Ino encouraged

"Yeah, yeah…" Shikamaru mumbled lazily

After Ino's words, they walked out onto the runway together.

"Now here is one of my finest designs giving a mature and bold look as if the couple is ready to go to a black tie masquerade event" Ino was commentating her design as Temari and Shikamaru continued to walk down holding masks to their faces on a stick.

"This outfit design gives a 'couple' feel towards the two due to the matching outfits, yet an independent feel too because of the few differences the outfits have. Just like the prom king and queen at every prom in every high school, the outfits are meant to represent the 'perfect couple' everyone wants to be" Ino continued.

Temari was about to reach the end of the runway, but then she suddenly felt unbalanced and the worst thing that could possibly happen happened.

The heel broke.

Temari started to fall flat on her face.

She closed her eyes to be ready for the impact, but luckily a strong arm grabbed her hand causing her to twirl on hr foot with the non-broken heel into those pair of arms

She opened her eyes again when she felt being lifted to see Shikamaru keeping a strong face as if it was all planned.

'Don't look at me, look at the camera and play along with a pose' Shikamaru whispered.

Temari turn her head giving the best serious look possible at the cameras

The crowd cheered and the shuttering sounds multiplied.

"Uh, as you can see, the models are representing this 'perfect couple' look showing off how well the outfits work together" Ino played along with her voice slightly wavered.

Shikamaru then continued to walk coolly off stage still carrying Temari in his arms princess style all the way back.

When they finally got backstage he placed her on one of the couches.

"Look I know I told you guys to act as an item, but at least give me some warning if you're ever going to pull of something as bold as that ever again!" Ino commanded

"It wasn't planned; my heel broke as I was reaching the end of the stage…" Temari spoke in self defence.

"Clumsy, troublesome woman…" Shikamaru muttered

"WHAT WAS THAT LAZY ASS?' Temari bit back

"Shh!" hushed a couple of back stage crew members

"Break? That's impossible! I hired the best of the best to make those shoes so that they were super sturdy!" Ino cried, "Pablo! Come here this instant!"

An unrecognisable man walked over, "Yes , how can I help you?"

"Look at this!" Ino held up Temari's heel, "Can you please explain how this broke during the middle of the show? I specifically asked you to check all shoes before the show today and look what happened!"

"I told you Ino can get really scary when angered…" Shikamaru whispered to Temari

Temari just nodded her head

"That's impossible! It was fine when I checked it a few moments before!" he grabbed the heel hoping to find something to regain innocence. His eyes lit up instantly, "Look at this! Someone purposefully broke a part of the heel and the rest must have come off during the runway due to lack of support"

Ino looked closely, "I hate to say it, but I have broken a few heels in my life…"

'_Wow, like it's such a tragedy'_ Temari mocked inside her head

"But this is not a natural break, someone must have tampered with it…but who would…?"

Temari's thoughts started to click into place, _'It couldn't be…'_

"Maybe it was Deidara, after all we are competing with him…" Shikamaru suggested

"I thought so for a moment, but it's unlikely. He's in the other section getting his own design ready since he's on next. This is also a fight for pride, so he wouldn't even if he had the chance" Ino pondered.

"I think I know who…" Temari started to suggest

"Really? Who?" Ino questioned

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Well these shoes have always been in my sight, or at least on my feet so I would've known if they were being tampered with, except for when I tripped a bit before the show and someone else picked up my shoe…"

"That's the perfect opportunity to do it! Who was it?" Ino asked getting worked up

"Rika Nozomi"

"Who?"

Shikamaru raised his other eyebrow

"This girl who's modelling for someone else in the show"

"Why would she purposefully break your heel?"

Temari looked at Shikamaru

Shikamaru gave her the usual 'aloof' look, but his eyes were asking 'what?'

"Lets just say she wants something and in order to get it she had to get rid of an obstacle which is unfortunately me" Temari answered with a sigh

Ino caught on immediately, "Oh I see. Well SHOW ME THAT BITCH BECAUSE SHE COULD'VE COSTED ME MY PRIZE FOR HER OWN STUPID REASONS!"

"I think she's lost the point of this contest now…" Temari sighed yet again

Shikamaru nodded, "Yep"

Then finally the rest of Ino's designs were shown and Deidara's turn was next.

Temari searched for Rika, but was out of luck.

She then caught up to Shikamaru who was dressed in his usual casual clothing with his hair up in the usual ponytail with all make up removed.

For some reason, Temari found this rather comforting.

They watched as Deidara's designs were being modelled out on the catwalk.

"I guess the Akatsuki didn't want to participate in the modelling themselves; which is not surprising since I can't picture them strutting" Temari pointed out.

"I wish we could've done the same…" Shikamaru mumbled

Temari nodded until something caught her eye.

The model with the brown hair looked familiar…

"Wait, isn't that Rika?" Temari exclaimed

"Hmm…dunno, kinda forgot what she really looked like" Shikamaru looked to the side as if he was trying to recall something

Temari could imagine Rika's expression and face turn green if she heard that and laughed to herself.

'_Got to hand it to Shikamaru, he would be the only man on this PLANET to not remember what she looks like'_ Temari thought happily

"Well, I'm gonna go and grab that bitch" Temari declared running off.

"Ah! Wait a second Temari" Shikamaru called after her.

Temari ran towards the area next to hers feeling rather fired up.

She was pumped.

She was angry.

She then bursted into the room and looked around.

Everyone's heads turned to look at her for a second and then went back to what they were doing in a rush.

She couldn't spot her anywhere until a sickly sweet voice said from behind, "I knew you were gonna give me a visit some time. What took you so long?"

* * *

Well that's all with this chapter~

Mann I'm tired D:

I hope you all have enjoyed it

I know this time around it was a bit more girly than usual, but after the modelling showdown expect some action coming up!

I hope you look forward to it!

Sorry for skipping the rest of the outfits, but I got rather bored writing up the details and it wasn't really necessary so I was hoping not to bore you guys with it either

I will try my hardest to update soon between work and dates and such

Please review, I actually do remember you all who do and I thank those who have stuck with me for a year LOTS AND LOTS!

I would send cookies out to you all if I could with a hug

Hope to hear from you soon (you will hear from me)

And if I take too long, you are welcomed to bug me via PMing ;)

Chanel~ aka Monochromatic Persona


	27. Fake

Ok I'm a few days too late, but if you take away all of the public holidays I'm technically somewhat-not really- on time :D

Ok, enough excuses from me...

Also just a bit of random info, my birthday is on New Years Day

Not lying to you XD

To those who have supported me and haven't ditched me even though I was the bad one not updating fast enough: MsEvilbabe; Sofanje; xAlternativexMusicxGirlx; aRrow; ObssesionThe-never-ending-wait; Obidixwanovic; Sandanio; AnimeMaster107; .Kunoichi; BitchAndMoan; XeniaKunoichi; KoZuMi4EvA45; X-ShikaTemaLuv-X; Effie-a; Ninja Trio's Best; troublesome22; Ladybella; Gaara; crazy-madiz-1995; charoes monxrow; VampireKitty-chan; Fuzzfaerie;

You are all the 'bigger person' :P

Anyway without further ado, let get this chapter on the road

* * *

"What took you so long" asked a familiar, sickly sweet voice from behind

Temari flicked her head fast to look behind her.

A bit too fast that her neck hurt.

"No need to give me a scary face" Rika then said smiling her 'model smile' so cute and innocent.

"So you admit it? You're the one who tampered with my shoe and tried to sabotage Ino" Temari accused

Rika placed her index finger on her chin increasing her cuteness, "Eh? I don't know what you're talking about. I never tried to sabotage Ino"

'_Conveniently leaving out my shoe'_ Temari thought to herself

"Admit it already, no one else could've or would've wanted to break my heel besides you" Temari hissed

"What about Deidara, he has a clearer motive, after all he's battling out with 'Ano' or whatever her name is"

"If that's the case, he would've sabotaged more than my one heel if he really wanted to bring Ino down. Plus, her name is Ino not Ano"

"Maybe he knew that you were unrefined and a klutz and thought that it would be enough"

'_Ouch, she didn't even try to hide the insults this time' _Temari commented mentally

"Well at least I have the brain capacity to remember a three letter name that was said to me less than two minutes ago"

"I tend to forget things that don't matter. Either way, you can stop blaming me since I wasn't the one who did it, so stop trying to accuse me and throwing hatred at me"

'_Gotcha'_ Temari smirked mentally

"Oh no, I actually want to thank you since if it wasn't for my heel, I wouldn't have had the chance to be held in Shikamaru's strong arms like a princess as he gracefully caught me. Oh, and not only that, many pictures were taken at that moment as a record and may be printed in a few magazines and newspapers all over the world" Temari smiled in triumph watching Rika's face fall, "But I guess I was thanking the wrong person since it wasn't you.

As Temari was saying this, she could feel herself choking on the word 'princess'.

Not a word usually connected to herself. Ice Queen has been thrown out there a couple of times, but not princess.

Before Rika could say anything more, someone dragged her away telling her to be quick because she was on again soon.

Temari smirked at the sight remembering Rika's fallen face.

She could imagine when she sees the photos, her face would be turning green, then purple.

As Temari was standing by herself feeling proud, someone tapped her shoulder.

It was Chouji.

For once, NOT eating.

"Oh hey Chouji, where have you been all day? Haven't seen you 'til now"

"I've been running around all day doing odd jobs and errands for Ino during her 'big night' totally forgetting the reason why we're here" Chouji replied

Temari laughed, "I see"

Chouji's stomach rumbled, "Ughh, I'm so hungry at the moment I couldn't eat out a whole supermarket including the kitchen sinks"

Temari laughed again, "They don't sell kitchen sinks in supermarkets Chouji. Why don't you eat then? It doesn't look as if you're doing anything important at the moment"

"Well…I kinda feel uncomfortable eating here…"

Temari paused.

'_It must be hard for Chouji to be here surrounded by so many skinny models only wishing to be skinnier and with rooms filled with judgemental people'_ Temari pitied

"I mean, eating chips in front of starving models is just down right MEAN! Most of them are probably on diets so they were starving to begin with; but now, they're even hungrier using so much energy and not eating a single bite. I would rather be a normal size feeling happy and eating whenever I want and what ever I want, instead of starving myself and eating things I hate just to look unhealthy"

Temari's eyes widened in a bit of shock, and then she couldn't help but laugh yet again.

'_I can see why this guy is Shikamaru's best friend'_ Temari grinned

"Well then, shall we get something to eat? I'm starving too. I haven't eaten all day. Plus, I'm done with the modelling so I'm sure we can get a quick bite before the results are up" Temari suggested

Chouji's ears perked, "Yeah lets go!"

As they went out of the door, they bumped into Shikamaru.

"Well isn't this an odd couple, where you guys going?" Shikamaru pointed out asking

"Eat" Temari simply replied

"STARVING" Chouji complained

Shikamaru smirked, "Figures. I'll join you guys, I'm hungry too"

"I can see why all models are so skinny, they starve themselves all day when they're performing" Chouji commented

Shikamaru and Temari chuckled as all three of them went out to eat.

* * *

As more of Deidara's designs came out, everyone became more nervous.

Deidara's designs were much more eccentric than Ino's, but they were definitely professional.

Shikamaru, Temari and Chouji returned from lunch just in time to hear the results.

"Where were you guys? I thought you all got kidnapped by Deidara or something! I swear you all would've been dead if you weren't here to support me!" Ino hissed with a killer intent aura lurking around her.

'_She has already forgotten the real point of this competition'_ Temari thought

"Ah sorry Ino, we all got a bit hungry and went to catch a bite, though we came back in time didn't we?" Chouji explained

Ino paused, "I guess you're right. Sorry for snapping but I've been a bit stressed from this whole thing and not really paying attention to taking care of everyone's needs. You always know how to set me straight Chouji" Ino smiled happily

Chouji smiled back with his eyes closed

'_Ok, what's with this weird air I'm feeling between the two most opposite people in the world here?'_ Temari wondered in awe

Shikamaru smirked.

"Hey everyone! It's me again, one of your very happy judges!" The loud mouth judge spoke again.

"We were very proud of all of the entrants received this year, including many of the newcomers! We never expected to see such fantastic results! So please everyone, put your hands together for the many wonderful entrants we have received today!" he continued beckoning the audience to applaud.

Surely enough, everyone applauded and he continued to speak announcing the winners in different divisions one by one.

"A rather exciting character isn't he?" Temari pointed out raising an eyebrow.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow in agreement.

"Now for the Best First-timers Award!" The judge then announced

Everyone's ears in the room perked up.

The whole room went silent and all you could hear was Ino's teeth grinding.

"The awards goes to..."

A drum roll took place filling the room.

"Well, we couldn't decide!" the judge then smiled cheekily

The room stayed silent

"WHAAATTTT?" Ino bursted out saying, "What does he mean by THAT?" Ino preeched

"N-Now, calm down Ino, I'm sure he'll explain now..." Sakura spoke nervously trying to calm Ino down

Sure enough, he was, "All of us judges were very impressed by the results given to us from 'Ino' and 'Deidara' that we couldn't decide and kept reaching a draw", he then pulled out a top hat from nowhere, "Hence, I'm simply going to choose by picking a name out of a hat" a wide smile came up on his face.

"You..are...joking..." Tenten muttered

Neji pulled a face.

Everyone in the room was thinking the same thing.

"So without further ado!" The judge stuck his hand in the hat, "And the winner is..."

Another drum roll came around

"Deidara!"

The crowd cheered.

Ino's face went pale and then she fainted.

Chouji caught her in time and sat her down.

Sakura, Hinata and Tenten attended to her.

Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, Kiba and Kankurou sat together pondering on what was gonna happen next.

"After all of that effort and having to do something I really hate, it all came down to just plain DUMB LUCK! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Temari broke out in a rage.

Shikamaru placed a hand on her shoulder, "I know this is stressful Temari, but you have to calm down. The real problem is only starting now with them having an advantage"

"What is that advantage anyway?" Temari just came to a realisation

"They get to choose a time, place and set up the challenge however they like and all we can do is either agree or disagree" Sasuke answered

"Are you serious?" Kiba blurted out

"At least they have the decency of giving us a choice" Neji remarked

"Well I guess even they want a proper fight. No fun fighting someone who doesn't want to in the first place" Kankurou explained

"How did you find this out Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked

"Itachi told me a few hours ago, but with all of the fuss, I never got a chance to tell you all"

"You've finally come to!" Sakura exclaimed happily

"Th-Thank goodness" Hinata's soft spoken words were finally heard

"Yeah I guess, still I'm not going to be right in the head for a little while..." Ino sighed

'_Rather dramatic don't you think? And is your head EVER right?'I Temari smirked to herself_

"Well, I guess we have to face them now and see what's going to happen next" Tenten spoke hesitantly

The gang went silent.

The only sounds heard were the people Ino hired packing up the place around them.

They walked out feeling a bit down, but non-of-the-less with their heads held high giving out a prideful aura.

Soon enough they came face to face with the Akatsuki.

"Due to our win, we will decide the grounds of the challenge" Pain explained

Deidara grinned in glee

"Don't look so smug, you only won because of last minute luck" Ino snapped

"Whatever honey, it's all part of the package of things I'm better than you at" Deidara grinned again

Ino gritted her teeth swearing revenge.

"Therefore we will send you an invite with all information that you need to know on it. It will arrive within the next few days. I hope all members will be able to make it" Konan declared

"So...we were the ones who lost it seems..." a familiar voice spoke out of no where

Everyone's heads swung around to see Gaara.

"Oh geez Gaara, you've got to get out of that habit of appearing out of nowhere" Temari complained

"I would just like to make clear that I will also be participating in this gathering" Gaara continued to speak ignoring Temari

"Yeah, me too!"

"Hey wait, that will lead them to have WAAYYY too many members" Deidara complained

"You have spoken a decent point" Konan noted

"I don't care, they need the extra help anyway. Plus, I just love the look in that red heads eyes. I couldn't even sense his presence near us before, gave me a great fright. Mind having a little brawl with me ey?" Kisame chuckled challenging Gaara

"Kisame, back off. I will be the only one challenging him. It's personal" Sasori glared

"Behave Kisame", Itachi spoke, "You'll get your fair share, but right now they're off limits"

Kiba made a whipping sound.

They both glared at him.

Kiba shrugged looking away.

"That leads me to say that we are not allowed to come in contact with one another in any way that may cause injury to another before the day of the challenge" Konan butted in, "Although plainly speaking is alright. Anyone who disobeys will be disqualified. As for the uneven amount of member in each team, I suggest yours to choose a couple of members to sit on the side lines that will be allowed to help, but they must not interfere or play a role in the challenge"

"If they can't play a role, then how can they help?" Shikamaru questioned

"Such as, they will be allowed to take care of injuries, but they themselves cannot help in terms of finishing the challenge directly" Konan answered monotonously

"Oh, Ino and I will sit out then!" Sakura yelled out

Everyone looked at them

"Ino and I aren't really fighters and we've actually been studying up a bit on medic stuff, so it's really a perfect position for us" Sakura continued to explain

Ino nodded in agreement

"Well, that solves that" Naruto grinned turning back to Akatsuki

"Good, the sooner I get that blonde bitch, the better" Hidan licked his lips

Temari shuddered

Shikamaru, Gaara, Kankurou and even Sasori glared at him

"Again with all the cold stares. You know that-" Hidan got cut off by a blonde

Naruto that is.

"HEY! WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME A BITCH? WE HAVEN'T EVEN TALKED BEFORE! AND WHY DO YOU WANT ME?" Naruto argued

Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you sure this blonde is really the threat we keep hearing about?" Pain whispered to Konan

"I'm having my doubts too, but I'm certain it is him. I will look it up later on" Konan whispered back

"Naruto you idiot! He's not talking to you!" Kiba hit Naruto on the top of his head gently

"K-Kiba!" Hinata told Kiba off

"Oww! How am I meant to know?" Naruto whined

Sasuke sighed, "Just keep quiet for the moment, Dobe"

"What a stupid ass dumbshit!" Hidan cackled, "As if I would be interested in a male blonde shithead!"

Sasuke death glared him, "Can you just shut up already so we can get on with it?"

Hidan raised an eyebrow, "Even fucking Itachi-junior has something fucking against me"

"Hidan, please refrain from your foul language comments for the rest of this meeting" Pain made clear

Hidan scowled, but non-of-the-less, quiet.

"Is there any other information we must know before the day?" Shikamaru asked Konan making the air serious again

"That is all, everything else will be explain on the invitation which will be sent to you soon"

Pain turned around starting to walk off.

"We hope for a fair match" Konan slightly smiled and followed Pain

"I guess that's our cue to leave" Kisame snickered starting to walk off

Itachi nodded and also followed

Soon all members started to move away

Hidan turned around, "I'll be seeing you soon bitch"

Temari grimaced

Shikamaru stepped forward, "you won't be getting away with anything"

"Ohh I'm sooo scaared detective douche" Hidan mocked

"Hidan, hurry up we're going" Kakuzu warned

"Fucking everyone is on my fucking case" Hidan curse under his breath walking away

The group sighed a sigh of relief after they were out of sight.

"What drama we experienced today" Neji commented breaking the stiff air

"Indeed" Gaara agreed

"I hate being around the Akatsuki, always makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason" Chouji frowned

"Explained why you weren't saying anything" Kankurou grinned

"You weren't saying anything either remember?" Ino pointed out

"Yeah, well there was no place for me to say anything" Kankurou explained

"Can we focus for a moment guys?" Tenten spoke trying to catch everyone's attention

"We have to figure out-" Neji was about to finish until he notice a strangers attention being brought to them

He turned around to face the stranger while everyone followed his gaze

The person watching them was none other than Rika.

"A-ah sorry for interrupting" she bashfully spoke as if to answer all of the looks she was being given, "I didn't mean to interrupt".

"Who is this girl?" Neji asked

"I-it's that girl" Hinata timidly spoke

"That's the little hussy that tried to sabotage our win!" Ino yelled out

"I-I swear I didn't do anything~!" Rika cried cutely in her defence

She walked up closer to them, "D-Do you guys really think that _I_ could really do something as mean as that?" She continued to use her sweet and innocent tone batting her long eyelashes at the boys.

'_Here we go again with her 'I'm so sweet, cute and innocent so I'm going to bat my eyelashes and put on a fake voice so you can fall for me' act. What's worse is that it probably works and many defenceless guys fall for her, only to have her breaking their hearts. These guys would too probably...' _Temari thought to herself mocking Rika in her head

She looked at the guys, but no change is reaction.

Sasuke actually looked kinda pissed.

Rika stopped batting her eyelashes when she noticed no one was saying anything.

The whole group was looking at her with judgemental eyes.

"I-Is something wrong...?" Rika asked with a nervous quiver in her voice.

"I thought you were kinda cute when I first saw you, but now not so much" Kiba rubbed the back of his head.

"Wh-what?" Rika spoke out loud gobsmacked

"How stupid..." Gaara mumbled

Kankurou looked away.

"I don't get what you're all saying..." Rika said with her bottom lip trembling

Temari was also confused.

Rika was getting a total different reaction to what she suspected.

"Well...yeah you're cute but..." Naruto started to speak as if he was trying to explain

"You're fake" Sasuke simply spoke with a cold tone

Rika's eyes widened as if she was about to cry.

"And here I thought you were going to say something useful, such as the incident on stage with Temari and Shikamaru..." Neji sighed in boredom

Rika's whole body started to shake.

Then she suddenly burst out with anger, "FINE! I WAS THE ONE THAT TAMPERED WITH THAT BITCHES SHOE! HAPPY NOW?"

Everyone's eyes widened to this outburst.

"So it was you as suspected..." Shikamaru finally spoke staring at Rika's now ugly self

Rika looked at Shikamaru, then tears began to form in her eyes, "Y-Yes, but I did it all for you. I was simply jealous that _she_ got to go out on the catwalk with you, even though I'm much more suited to stand by your side. I wanted you to realise that she's not good enough to be with you and that she'll only cause trouble; unlike me who would dedicate my whole life only wanting the best for you!"

'_Dedicating whole lives now? How overly dramatised...though those tears kinda put me in a soft spot for her...'_ Temari pondered

Shikamaru didn't change facial expressions, actually his eyes became colder, "Those fake tears won't fool me"

'_Wait, they're fake?'_ Temari thought surprised

"Sure she's a troublesome woman, but you haven't got the right to make judgement on whose better standing next to me. If you're going to make such accusation, then keep them to yourself, we don't want to hear them" Shikamaru continued to talk.

"Besides, Temari and Shikamaru look GREAT together" Tenten spoke in defence

"So well that the press were going crazy when they came out" Sakura followed

"Well, also because my designs brought the best out of them" Ino shrugged

"Nothing worse than a fake sucker as they say" Kankurou pointed out referring to Rika.

Rika continued to look surprised and then calmly walked off flicking her hair, "Fine, who wants you guys anyway?'

"Geez the trouble that girl caused..." Sakura huffed

"Well, at least she's gone now" Hinata smiled in relief

"How did you guys know she was all fake?" Temari asked

"Oh, we get girls like her coming up to us all the time" Kiba explained simply

"It gets to the point where you can see right through them" Neji shrugged

"They're rather annoying, and she was good at it too" Sasuke said coldly

"Anyway, let's call it a night guys. We're all probably tires, we'll speak about the issue tomorrow" Chouji announced

Everyone nodded in agreement and headed backstage grabbing their bags and walking out the door.

Temari came out of backstage to see Shikamaru waiting for her.

"Yo" Shikamaru greeted

"Hey..." Temari returned.

Temari walked up next to him, and continued to walk past so he could follow.

"So I'm a troublesome woman, but well suited to stand beside you huh?" Temari teased a little

Shikamaru flushed a little, "Che! I didn't say that we were suited. That was Sakura and that"

"What? So you're saying that we aren't?"

"I didn't say that either"

"Well then give me your honest opinion"

"No way"

"Why not?"

"Because it's troublesome"

"You're troublesome"

"Clearly you have the word 'troublesome' in your name...troublesome woman"

"Would you rather me NOT be by your side then?"

"No"

Temari looked at him surprised.

"I'm not sure if we're suited or whatever, but I do want you here next to me, just like how we are now" Shikamaru explained

Temari's eyes went soft, "I-I guess me too"

Shikamaru looked at her and laugh, "Heh, you are a Tsundere after all"

It was then Temari's turn to flush, "A-Am not you lazy piece of shit!"

"Ouch that was a bit harsh"

"You deserved it lazy bastard!"

Then they both laughed as they bickered on their way to the bus stop.

* * *

Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter

I guess this brings the end of the Fashion Show arc

I do hope you enjoyed it

Now we're getting into the serious climax with the AKATSUKI!

Sorry about Hidan's swearing, but we must keep him authentic!

Also, because you guys like it, I added a bit of teasing at the end

Hope it was ok ;)

Thanks for keeping up with me!

Keep up with the reviews~

Oh and sorry about the typos, it's late and I just want to update XD

Chanel~


	28. DELAYS what's going on this isn't a ch

DELAYS! D:

Sorry guys!

I really want to update Konoha High, but I've been super busy in my last year of High School!

I have mid-year exams coming up so I must work hard!

I will update asap as soon as mid-years are over and holidays begin (with less of a work load)

Or if I' m lucky, this weekend

Either way I AM GOING TO CONTINUE AND FINISH THIS STORY

How could I not after all of the wonderful reviews you guys have taken time to write for me

You guys have been awesome so please hang on a little longer

I would be really shattered if you all stopped reading

Have faith in me~

Chanel~

P.S. I cannot guarantee any pairings besides ShikaTema

I know many of you have been asking for NaruHina, NaruSaku, SasuSaku, SasuIno, NejiHina, etc. but I can't appeal to everyone unless I make them all have affairs with one another, so please just accept the pairings that happen as they are

This is a ShikaTema story focusing on the pairing, so the others should be somewhat insignificant

So I'm sorry if you other favourite pairings aren't included, but if I try to please everyone, I will please no one

Plus, if I try to add a pairing I'm not really passionate about, then it ends up becoming dribble anyway :/

If there is a pairing you really hate, then ignore it and skip over them

I don't really focus on any romance between other pairings for that reason since we're all here for ShikaTema and I don't want to scare anyone away from dislikable pairings…

Well guys, that's all from me

Thank you


	29. From Regret to Challenge to Clubbing?

ZOMG GOT A POLL

ANSWER IT :D

Now that that's out of the way...

Ah, ok I can't even describe my feelings of utter gratitude to everyone's reviews!

I'm deeply sorry for the long awaited update!

I'm in my final year of high school and time isn't exactly the luxury I have at the moment.

But here's a chapter! YAY!

Thanks to those who have been ever so faithful and reviewed (I really don't deserve it): DutchmanSjorsie; OriginalCopy; Sofanje; blueheart; Effie-a; Andra-jordanitza; KoZuMi4EvA45; XeniaKunoichi; Munchingonyou; D1000100; MaTcHBoOkPoEt; someone; VampireKitty-chan; orangepumpkins; charoes monxrow; DarkcytheDemon; Grayy-Sunshiine; Consuming Endless Nightmare; AznJacaranda; .Rinjii; Artemis; Coco793; Audrey; meline (I'm not really bashing on Ino. This is how I would portray her in real life and I'm sorry if you don't like it, but you are sort of exaggerating some of the points you make such as me saying that she's close to failing is an excuse to take a swipe at her, but so is Naruto, so technically I'm not focusing on bashing her, and really, she doesn't seem the study type to me. Oh and Sakura isn't the only one who heals, Ino does too, I said that so please don't call me a 'bitchy asshole jerk'. Sorry if anyone is agreeing with her, I'm not purposefully bashing on Ino, just having fun writing :D); Hanabi Kurosu; AnimeGirl17657; Bookworm73; aerrow4eva; AnonymousObserver; Iloveshikatema; Epicslowdown2; AnimeMaster107; WOWZERS; u r awesome; itsashikatemastory; YueHeartphilia; Nanase-chan

I will most likely be able to update again in a couple of weeks so don't worry about waiting too long!

Alright, enough of my tattle, please enjoy my long awaited chapter and sorry if it's a little choppy!

Oh and btw, in my last chapter, Shikamaru called Temari a Tsundere.

A Tsundere is pretty much a girl who has a rough exterior that's not afraid to bite, but on the inside they're actually quite soft and lovey, which is pretty much Temari

I quote Shikamaru's dad, "Even the toughest women is soft to the man they love"

Well, it was something closely translated to that...

* * *

_What happened last chapter:_

_Rika the super cute, but super jealous and evil model was exposed by the group and ran off in disgust_

_Temari was called a Tsundere and the modelling show arc ended_

_Deidara won the competition due to random luck and now the Akatsuki has the advantage_

_The group are currently eagerly awaiting their fate._

* * *

"Checkmate" Shikamaru claimed placing his last chess piece in place.

"Ahh!" Asuma cried displeased, "I still can't win!"

Shikamaru grinned happily and then stood up, "Alright, let's start training"

Asuma, still seated, looked up at him with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, "You sure are enthusiastic today. More so than usual"

Shikamaru simply shrugged, "Meh" he replied avoiding a proper answer

Unfortunately, Asuma didn't stop there.

"So what have you gotten yourself involved in huh?" he grunted as he got up from the floor and started stretching his legs, "it was unusual enough that you even wanted physical training, but now you're actually getting up from a chess game asking for it. Breaking that lazy air of yours huh?"

Shikamaru paused not really knowing what to say. He wasn't sure if Asuma was really asking him the question or just saying it; and even if he was asking properly, Shikamaru wouldn't know how to answer anyway.

Either way, the genius was stumped.

After the noticeable pause, Asuma sighed.

"I see, it's that serious huh that you can't even tell me..." Asuma said as he looked up at the sky

"It's...complicated..." Shikamaru explained finding that it was the only answer he could muster.

"Hmm..." Asuma crossed his arms, "I just need to know where your hearts at. Before I can really train you, I need to know what you're exactly putting so much effort into. What has exactly gotten you so motivated. I've never seen you in such a confused state before; and if the genius is confused, well we're all doomed"

Shikamaru joined Asuma looking up at the sky at the clouds, "You're right, it feels like forever since I've looked up at the clouds. They really have an ideal life"

"Ah, but Shikamaru..." Asuma disrupted, "Even clouds get angry and cry"

Shikamaru paused again.

He never really thought about it.

There was a silence.

The air was somewhat humid, but not unbearably.

Crickets' chirping could be heard.

Shikamaru liked Asuma's house.

It's a bit out of the way from civilisation, so no cars or trains could be heard.

"Have you ever gone into a situation where there is no way out" Shikamaru finally spoke breaking the silence, but didn't break his gaze towards the sky.

Asuma looked at him and laughed, "countless times"

Shikamaru didn't react to his laughter as he paused and spoke again, "Then have you ever felt as though someone else's life was completely in your hands sitting on your shoulders. Almost as if they are the piece on a chess board and you're the one determining all the moves to protect them?"

Asuma stop laughing. He looked back at the sky, "So you've found your 'king'"

Shikamaru focused on a cloud that was shaped like a fan, "I guess so"

Another silence broke out.

"Is this what you're eagerness of training all about?"

Shikamaru squinted as the fan shaped cloud started to distort in shape, "I feel as though my shoulders aren't strong enough to hold such weight. This is the first thing I have ever made my own responsibility and I'm already finding it all too troublesome, but I can't just call it quits. I just don't know where I'm at. Am I strong enough? Am I fast enough? God, I'm even doubting if I'm smart enough"

Asuma paused, and then smirked, "Man. I want to meet this girl that has somehow achieved the impossible and confused the man with all of the answers to everything"

Shikamaru ripped his gaze off the white blob that was originally a fan, "Who said anything about a girl?"

Asuma laughed hard with his chest shaking, "It's obvious that it's a girl. It's the only thing on this Earth that even a genius cannot comprehend"

Shikamaru grinned, "You can say that again"

There was a slight pause

"So how is Kurenai, Asuma?" Shikamaru asked

Asuma yelped in surprise, 'How did you find out about that?"

It was Shikamaru's turn to laugh, "It's obvious...even to a genius like me".

Asuma threw his head back and laughed.

"Wait here" Asuma ordered as he walked off back into the house.

He then came back holding a box; "I never answered your question" he spoke

"What question?" Shikamaru questioned replaying their conversation in his head

Asuma beat him to it, "You asked as if I've ever felt like someone else's life was in my hands hanging in the balance"

"Oh yeah" Shikamaru simply replied recalling the exact quote

Asuma sat down again on the floor of his backyard patio, "I have to say I have a few times, but there was one in particular that is still vivid in my mind 'til this day"

Shikamaru looked straight at him.

"Her name was Rin. She was utterly beautiful. When she ran, her long hair flicked side to side in the wind almost as if it was taking on its own life. It was only natural that I fell for her amongst many others"

Shikamaru stared at Asuma.

They have never mentioned women in their conversations before; it was unfamiliar.

"But then one day," Asuma continued, "She was kidnapped by a couple of ruffians who obviously wanted to make use of her beauty for themselves"

Shikamaru's eyes widened in response

"They pulled her off a footpath and into van. Luckily I was there and witnessed it and called the cops, but I knew they weren't going to make it in time. The only one who could save her was me"

There was a slight pause

"So what happened next? Did you save her?" Shikamaru asked carefully

Asuma smiled a sad smile, "Yes and no. I chased after them and gatecrashed their place. I was able to get there in time before they did anything to her. One of them had a knife though and stabbed me right here as I guarded her"

Asuma then lifted his top slightly showing a large scar on his side

"At the time I didn't even care. The only thoughts I had were to protect her disregarding myself. The police then walked in at that time and we were saved. I was immediately admitted to hospital and then one day she came to visit"

Shikamaru crossed his arms, "I don't understand. What did you mean by 'yes and no'? I'm only sensing 'yes' here"

Asuma looked at him and grinned, but his eyes looked so sad, "Well apparently she had been in therapy during the time I was in hospital recovering from trauma. She then bowed her head thanking me over and over; and then she told me 'I can't see you anymore'"

Shikamaru gave a stomp, "Why? You saved her LIFE. How could she just leave you?"

Asuma grinned sadly again, "It's because every time she looked at me, she'll be reminded of the fact that I was stabbed because I was protecting her. It was pretty gory. Blood splattered on her face and all over the floor. So every time she saw me, she would be reminded of the horrific event and all she could see was blood red."

Shikamaru stood in silence not knowing what to say or if he should say anything at all.

"I mean I can't really blame her. I probably would've reacted the same, but the point is, it's because I didn't value my own life the whole time"

A shocked looked crossed Shikamaru's face again.

"I mean, if you don't value your own life, how could you value anyone else's? It may sound silly, but if I didn't just walk in front and let the guy stab me, then who knows, she may have only needed a week to recover and she could look at me again as her saviour. Even if you really didn't care what happened to yourself, it can still affect the other party"

Shikamaru was deep in thought taking in all of the information he was given.

"And I haven't seen her ever since" Asuma then handed Shikamaru the box he was holding, "so I give this to you"

"What is it?" Shikamaru wondered

"Open it"

Shikamaru unclipped its lock and opened the box.

Inside was a pair of brass knuckles.

They looked kind of old and slightly worn out, but yet sharp and full of unexplained emotions.

"I used those exact pair of knuckles to protect and save Rin. Even though things didn't turn out exactly how I would've liked it, they still saved her for another day, and that I'm thankful to them. I've treasured them ever since"

Shikamaru continued to stare at the knuckles. He carefully took one out.

They were quite heavy.

"I'm entrusting them to you. I want you to use them and every time you do, remember this conversation we had. Just because you're fighting for someone else's life, it doesn't mean yours means nothing. If you were gone due to saving that person, I'm sure she'll be left very sad and regretful for not being strong enough, instead of being thankful"

Shikamaru grinned, _'Yeah, I can imagine Temari raging, constantly repeating herself saying how much of an idiot I was and that she was fine on her own'_

"Hopefully you won't make the same mistake I did"

Shikamaru looked at him.

Asuma looked at him back.

"It wasn't a mistake. You were protecting the girl you loved and that's what you did. I'm sure she's living a very happy life right now and it's all thanks to you" Shikamaru comforted

Asuma's eyes widened, and then he laughed whole heartedly, "Yeah..." was the only thing he could manage to say.

The repeating silence reoccurred.

"Well, shall we begin training?" Asuma asked jumping to his feet, "Lets learn how to use them first"

Shikamaru's grip on the brass knuckle tightened.

They suddenly felt slightly lighter.

"Yeah..." he replied.

He looked up at the clouds again as if it was for the last time.

The previously fan shaped cloud had turned into a deer.

Shikamaru grinned.

"YEAH! THAT'S IT, YOU'VE GOT IT!" Asuma yelled at Shikamaru who was holding a pair of brass knuckles

Shikamaru dropped his hands on his knees panting, "Finally...these things are hard to use when you try to use them properly"

Asuma grinned, "Already tired? We've just gotten started! Though you've picked up how to use them very fast, typical you Shikamaru"

Shikamaru looked up at him and grinned, "This is hardly comparable to chess Asuma"

Asuma chuckled, "Well I still haven't beaten you yet, even at the very first game you ever played you still beat me! I couldn't believe it!"

Shikamaru recalled the first game he ever played in his mind and laughed, "Yeah I remember that"

"Alright, let's continue this training" Asuma lifted his hands into fists

Shikamaru was about to take his own stance until he felt a vibration in his pocket, "Wait, let me read this text"

He shoved his hand in his pocket and took out his mobile.

There was a message from Naruto, "OI! SHIKAMARUUUUU! WE GT A LETTR FRM DA AKATSUKI BOUT DAH CHALLENGE THINGO. CME OVR 2 INO'S HOUSE YEAHHHH?"

Shikamaru shook his head in dismay, _'Naruto and his horrible spelling and punctuation. Sure it's a text, but you still have to make it comprehensible...and why is he always yelling at me?'_

"What's up?" Asuma asked lowering his fists slightly

"Sorry, I've got to go. Something important came up" Shikamaru shoved his mobile back into his pocket and carefully placed the brassed knuckles back into their box and clipped the lock back.

Asuma grinned and took out another cigarette and lit it up

Shikamaru watched the smoke snake through the air towards the sky, "Well I guess I better leave now before I get my ear yelled off"

He walked through the house and out the front door.

"Remember Shikamaru"

Shikamaru looked back at Asuma

"Don't ever forget what I've taught you today. Now go out there and get 'em!" Asuma gave Shikamaru a reassuring grin

Shikamaru grinned back, "Yeah. Thanks Asuma"

And he walked off heading to Ino's house.

* * *

When he got there, he could see that everyone was already there.

"OI! YOU'RE LATE SHIKAMARU!" Naruto yelled out to him

Shikamaru blocked his ears with his hands, "Yeah yeah"

He took a seat next to Temari

For some strange reason, he had trouble looking at her in the eye

Temari looked at him with concern

"Alright guys!" Ino called out, "We've got the letter from the Akatsuki about what the place and time will be so gather around"

Everyone started to gather around Ino, "Wait, did they send the letter to you Ino?" Chouji asked

"Nah, they sent it to Sasuke's house" Ino replied

"Well, seeing as his brother's in the Akatsuki and would know where he lives" Tenten shrugged

Sasuke grimaced

"Well open it! Open it!" Naruto excitedly jumped up and down

"I'm opening it as fast as I can!" Ino snapped back

When she finally opened it, the letter read: **Meet at school upcoming Saturday at 6:30pm**

"Heeh, is that all?" Sakura frowned

"They're keeping this a secret 'til the day huh? The bastards!" Kiba sniggered

Hinata looked at the letter displeased, "And I was hoping to find out a bit more..."

Temari looked at the letter reading it over and over, "Why the school?"

"It's a pretty big ground and it would be pretty deserted on a weekend, especially at night" Neji answered

Everyone stopped to think.

"I don't understand what's going on but I will fight with all my youth for our team!" Lee cried out

Everyone looked at him.

"Shall we fill him in?" Naruto asked

"Don't even bother..." Sakura smacked her palm on her forehead shaking her head in dismay.

"What I want to know is what _you_ guys are doing here?" Temari asked as she looked at her siblings Gaara and Kankurou

Kankurou and Gaara frowned in sync.

"Come on sis! We're a part of this too!" Kankurou continued to frown

"Well I'm not too worried about your group's pride, but I do need to settle the family matters with Sasori...and I should be there to help protect you as well" Gaara monotonously explained

Temari snarled, "I told you guys already! I don't need to be protected! I am able to protect myself"

"This is no time to be prideful, Temari..." Kankurou reasoned

"This isn't about pride!" Temari snapped back

"Now, now guys...let's not fight within the group ok? Leave that anger to go against the Akatsuki later..." Kiba nervously interrupted

All three siblings' death glared him releasing an evil aura at him

Kiba cowered in a corner

Akamaru went up to him and licked his hand

"Ahh Kiba, you should know not to interrupt family matters..." Sakura laughed nervously

"Are you ok...?" Hinata asked hesitantly

"S-S-So...sc-sc-scary" Kiba murmured as he continued to rock himself back and forth

"Look guys, can we get back on track now?" Ino beckoned

Everyone looked and her and fell quiet

"Well what do we do now?" Chouji asked

A silence hung in the air

"Since we don't know anything, there really isn't much that can be done" Neji said matter-of-factly

"Neji's right. Until we know what they have in store for us, we can't really do anything" Shikamaru sighed in disappointed

'_I've been stumped a bit too many times today'_ Shikamaru thought to himself shaking his head

"Alright! Enough of this boring depressing stuff! Life's too short to be depressed! Let's all go out somewhere and have fun!" Ino gleamed

"But where exactly?" Sakura asked, "I like the idea of having fun, but it's getting quite late so nothing will be open"

"Yeah and we're not exactly dressed for a 'night out of the town'" Tenten sighed looking at her tracksuit pants

Everyone looked down at their relaxed clothes.

Shikamaru's had a bit of dirt on his shirt from training in the morning.

"Ah, and again you guys underestimate me..." Ino laughed evilly

'_Oh dear...'_ everyone thought

'_This is going to be troublesome...I can tell already'_ Shikamaru thought to himself

"I'm leaving" Gaara claimed and walked out of the house before he could be dragged into anything

"Ah! Wait up Gaara!" Kankurou yelled after him

"My daddy is opening up a new night club tonight and he could use a few extra girls and boys to attract a bigger audience" Ino explained

Sasuke gave a wince of a disgusted look

Naruto's eyes widened in excitement

Neji repeated the look Sasuke gave

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow

So did Temari

Chouji looked rather passive

"Clubbing...? Aren't we a bit too young...?" Sakura pointed out

"It's MY families club so it's MY say about who can get in or not, so age is not an issue as long as we don't drink" Ino smiled reassuring

"You still haven't solved our 'clothing' issue" Temari stated hoping to get out of the situation

"Oh Temari! I guess I can forgive you since you're new but lack of clothes is definitely not a problem that occurs in my household" Ino giggled

"Yeah...because you go shopping every second day..." Tenten remarked

"Yeah~ But every other day I'm helping out at my mum's florist" Ino reasoned

'_Well at least she works...'_ Temari thought to herself

"Do you have anything my size though Ino?" Hinata asked uncertainly

"Same goes with me. I'm not quite as thin..." Temari added as an another attempt to not go

"Don't worry! We'll figure something out" Ino winked

Neji coughed, "I have very important duties to attend to tomorrow morning before school, so I will have to deny your offer"

"I'm not going" Sasuke simply stated leaving no room for argument

Kiba chuckled, "I'm so in!"

"Me too! Me too!" Naruto jumped up and down excitedly as usual

Sasuke stared at him

Shikamaru crossed his arms and sighed, "It's too troublesome. I'm not going either"

"WHAAATTTT?" Ino yelled at the top of her lungs

"Now Ino, calm down. I can't go either because I told mum that I'm going to celebrate with her and dad tonight at dinner as a celebration for dad's win at the sumo wrestling championship" Chouji raised his hands in defence.

"I cannot go either!" Lee stated, "I told Master Gai that I will join him in training tonight! Sorry!"

"It's fine with you two, you guys have legit reasons; unlike the rest" Ino glared at Sasuke, Shikamaru and Neji

They all looked to the side uncomfortably

"Yeah Ino, I'm not too keen on the idea either..." Temari interrupted uneasily

"Geez Temari. I already have to deal with the boys! We will work out your clothes so come!" Ino huffed

"Clothing isn't an issue...I just don't want to go" Temari rolled her eyes

"Seriously Temari, I will personally owe you one if you go. Plus, I have something you'll DEFINITELY like and I won't give it to you if you don't go" Ino snickered

Temari paused curious to what Ino was talking about, _'She may be lying...but I guess I can go briefly and pretend that I had to leave early or something whether she is or not' _she thought to herself, "Ok, I'll go"

Ino squealed in glee, "You're awesome Temari"

Then Ino noticed the boys starting to inch away

"Excuse me for a second girls, I'm going to have a little talk with the guys. Follow my butler, he will show you the way to the clothing room" Ino snapped her fingers and surely a butler appeared out of no where

"Follow me" the butler asked as he led the girls away.

Ino quickly turned to the boys as the girls had left the room, "Now you guys can NOT be serious..."

"I'm not going" Neji repeated

Sasuke flicked his head away in protest

"There's nothing you can say to convince me to go" Shikamaru stated

"Oh really?" Ino replied accepting the challenge, "After I'm finished organising the girls, they're going to look super hot. Then we're all going to go to the club and do you know what clubs have a lot of?"

No one replied

"Guys. Many, many men older than all of us hoping to find some hot girl to hit on"

Neji flinched

"And did you know that security doesn't even bother checking ID's of young girls now since most men want to go to clubs with young looking girls. Are you really going to leave all of us girls alone at a night club filled with men?"

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitch

"Fine, I'll go" Neji reluctantly agrees

"Beh so troublesome. You'll keep nagging if I say no anyway..." Shikamaru complains

Sasuke paused, "I don't care. I refuse to go"

"Come on Sasuke! It'll be fun partying it up!" Naruto cheered

Sasuke stared at Naruto and sighed, "Fine I'll go since I'm the only one who can keep Dobe in line"

Ino cheered in success, "Alright. Follow me as I take you to the men's clothing room where you can change into some nicer clothes for tonight"

She hummed as she led the boys to a room and then marched upstairs.

"Get ready quickly. We're leaving at 6. The opening's at 7" Ino ordered

Then she left the boys and entered the room where the rest of the girls were at.

There were clothes absolutely EVERYWHERE.

Revolving racks and all completely full.

"Hey, so did you convince them to go?" Sakura asked

Ino held a peace sign up, "You bet I did"

Tenten cheered, "Go Ino!"

"Alright girls, enough celebrating! Let's get our clubbing gear on"

Haha yes the gang's going clubbing randomly

* * *

Hope this chapter was alright.

It has a bit of a more serious feel, but it'll lighten up next chapter!

A lot of you have requested for more teasing, jealousy and protectiveness, so I'll try my hardest to infuse them in the next chapter.

Much love to you all and thanks for sticking with me :D

Your reviews are wonderful and I SWEAR I read every single one

Chanel~


	30. The Art Of Attracting Sleazebags

Here I am guys!

MY EXAMS ARE OVER!

HELLLOOOOOO FREEDOMMMMM!

*cough*anyway...*cough*

I'll understand if you're annoyed because you now don't remember anything in the past chapters due to the long wait...so I'll try to add a recap to begin with...?

Anyway please enjoy and I'll understand if you don't review (but you know I want it XD)

I do read them all, so I thank the following HIGHLY patient people that's making this all happen: Yue Heartphilia; Fuzzfaerie; aerrow4eva; chichi11101; KoZuMi4EvA45; Sandanio; Sofanje; u r awesome; MaTcHBoOkPoEt; Consuming Endless Nightmare; X-ShikaTemaLuv-X; Lizard Lover; SN Shi Natoka-chan; Iloveshikatema; Nanase-chan; Naruphonia13; erik; RoseXGaara; Shikatema lover x; Grayy-Sunshiine; Epicslowdown2; WatchesFromTheShadows; HinataHyuuga93; Tadi lily; smiles811998; Sandyx5; DesertRoseSparty; random lurker; Lov3Vib3s; Jin Kazune; Meh x3; sabrinarus; Just Another Blank Account; HypnoticFlames; Episyogurt; .shikatema; Uchihaforlife

Enjoy! :D

* * *

**Recap:**

_Shikamaru and Asuma had a nice deep and meaningful conversation about the meaning of life __(ok it was more like valuing your own life because it's important...and yeah, traumatised or whatever, Rin was still kind of a bitch)  
__Naruto has poor grammar and punctuation skills  
The gang finally received the letter of challenge, however, it only told them to go to school on Saturday at 6:30pm_

Now the gang are getting ready to go clubbing at the Yamanaka's new club opening (age is not an issue)

* * *

"I'm not wearing this, the top is waaay too small and I feel like I'm about to fall out of it..." Temari peered down at her chest in dismay, "as I said Ino, your clothes are way too small and I'm trying to keep a low profile..."

"Shut up Temari! You look smokin' hot and you are not allowed to wear anything else" Ino waved her hand as though to shoo Temari away like a fly

"Ino. I swear, I've allowed many things pass, but if you make me wear this obviously ridiculous dress that makes me look like I'm about to walk the streets, you will be sorry" Temari glared to the point that an image of a roaring tiger appeared behind her.

Ino quivered in fright.

"Now, now guys...let's play nice..." Tenten attempted to calm the conversation down

Sakura also jumped in, "Yeah guys, tonight is meant to be full of fun and thrills only before Saturday..."

There was a pause.

"Fine, here wear this instead. I thought it might suit you better anyway..." Ino gave up throwing a random piece of clothing to Temari

The tension eased a little.

"Thanks," Temari accepted and went to change into it.

It was a much more conservative dress on the top half, but still a little bit on the short side, but she wasn't going to complain since it was guaranteed that no matter what dress she pulled out, it would have the same outcome.

And at least this dress made her comfortable enough to be seen in and to wear without worrying about accidental exposure.

Finally all the girls were dressed and headed down the stairs to meet the boys in the living room.

All of the guys' eyes widened, but they did not say anything.

"Are we ready to go?" Sakura asked.

Everyone agreed.

"Ah! Wait a moment!" Ino stopped and pulled out random long pieces of fabric from nowhere.

They were ties.

"I knew this would happen," and before everyone knew it, all of the boys were wearing ties of different colour to one another.

"Now we're ready" Ino smiled.

Outside a limousine was waiting to take them.

'_I guess keeping a low profile was too much to ask of Ino...'_ Temari thought to herself.

They all hopped in awkwardly and drove off to their next location sipping non alcoholic beverages provided in the limousine.

They had finally arrived in front of a rather large building with a huge crowd waiting in front of it.

When the limousine had pulled up, the audience turned around to stare as the gang got out one by one lead by Ino.

They reached the front of the club, only to be stopped by the bouncer at the front.

"Can I see some ID please?" the solid man asked with his arms crossed.

"_Excuse_ me?" Ino raised an eyebrow

"Oh dear..." Sakura hit her forehead with the palm of her hand

"Are you questioning _me_? Do you WANT to get fired or something?" Ino continued, raising her voice.

"I don't think I understand..." the bouncer looked at the group with a puzzled look on his face.

"Do you know who I am? I'm Miss Ino Yamanaka, the daughter of the owner of this club and if you question me ONE more time I swear I'll-"

Ino was interrupted by Tenten's hand covering her mouth, "Ino...calm down..."

"Does there seem to be a problem here?" a noticeable voice asked

Ino's eyes perked, "DADDY!" she cried and ran up and hugged him.

Inoichi turned to the bouncer, "Don't worry, this is my daughter and friends, let them in".

The bouncer nodded and undid the rope blocking the doorway.

"Thank you Daddy" Ino smiled and lead the group inside.

As the group walked inside, Shikamaru could over hear some people talking.

'_Hey check that hot blonde chic out, the one with the tan'_

'_Damn...I would do anything for those girls'_

'_Later on we should try to chat a couple of those girls up...'_

It was then Shikamaru realised that he made the right decision to tag along...no matter how troublesome it was.

The music was pumping loudly and the room was filled with people.

The DJ was a floor higher than everyone else and the dance floor lit up with different coloured squares to the beat of the music.

"Let's go upstairs to the VIP area" Ino suggested and lead the group up a flight of stairs going past a couple of guards.

On the way up, Shikamaru grabbed Temari's shoulder, "Hey, you want to make a run for it?"

Temari stopped and looked back at him, "Why?" she surprisingly asked even though she didn't really want to be there two seconds ago.

But for one reason or another, she just felt like questioning him.

"Well, I just don't like the look of some of the people here..." Shikamaru replied vaguely.

A light bulb lit up in Temari's head, "You mean, you don't like the look of some of the _guys_ here..." a smirked was starting to appear on her face.

Shikamaru's face slightly flushed as he looked away, "No, I just hate being around so many flashy people and the music is killing my eardrums.

Shikamaru's denial only fuelled Temari's desire to tease him further, "Well I don't mind being here. I reckon it'll be fun"

He turned back looking straight at her, "You were against being here a moment ago! Don't lie to me Temari"

Temari smiled in a cunning manner, "I'm not lying. Now that I'm hearing the music and feeling the atmosphere, I kind of want to stay and fool around a bit..."

"_Fool around...?" _ Shikamaru questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Yep!" Temari showed a bright smile, "but you're welcomed to leave. I'm not going to stop you"

Temari then turned back around and continued to walk up the stairs.

Shikamaru grumbled for a moment, and then followed.

When Temari heard the sound of his footsteps following behind her, she smiled victoriously, _'Just as I thought'_

The VIP area was less crowded and you could walk on the platform to where the DJ was.

The area also had luxurious coaches and tables for people to sit and rest.

The music was also a lot quieter.

It was the typical, first class VIP area.

"Wooooow!" Tenten cooed dropping herself onto one of the couches.

Neji sat next to her in a calmer manner.

"The Yamanaka's always know how to do things right..." Sakura sat down on a different couch.

Eventually everyone sat and ordered drinks...on the house of course.

"Well I guess you can't complain about the music being too loud here" Temari smirked looking at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru again grumbled in response.

They all sat and drank chatting to one another happily.

Eventually when the drinks were finished, Ino stood up, "Well, why are we sitting here for? Let's join the club and party a little"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Tenten hopped up and stood next to her.

"Don't you think we should be more worried about the Akatsuki at the moment..." Sasuke mentioned.

"Well it's not like we can do anything about it now Sasuke!" Kiba yelled out as he stood up.

"I have to agree. We should loosen up a bit" Sakura giggled, "Come on Hinata! Let's go too!"

Hinata stood up silently and stood next to Sakura.

"YEAHHH! DANCING AND PARTYING!" Naruto screamed in excitement and stood up as well.

"Well Temari...?" Ino asked.

Temari looked at Shikamaru.

His eyes were pleading no.

"Yeah, I'm up for a bit of dancing" Temari stood up.

"Boys?" Ino questioned.

"Leave me out of this" Sasuke glared

Neji didn't speak.

"I'm not going..." Shikamaru simply said.

"Well then, you can watch us below" Ino crossed her arms and lead the rest back down the stairs.

As they walked down the stairs, the music gradually increased in volume.

Temari's heart was beating faster and faster as she continued to walk down the stairs.

Then they reached their destination as mass groups of people were dancing all around the place.

Kiba and Naruto had already been lost in the crowd whereas the girls stuck together and joined the wave of people and started to dance.

Temari just made subtle movements as her heels were starting to rub at the back of her feet.

She looked at Hinata with surprise as she was moving her hips side to side perfectly in rhythm; which was unusual for her timid self.

Not surprisingly, a lot of guys were eyeing her...and her curves.

They danced together for a while until Sakura spoke, "Oh, I need to sit down for a bit. The strap on my shoe came undone."

"Let me come too, I need a drink" Tenten puffed.

"Let's all go and rest for a bit" Ino suggested as they all slid themselves into a booth.

As Sakura was fixing her shoe sitting at the edge of the booth, a group of five guys came up to them, "Hey there girls" the blonde at the front grinned.

"Hey there" Ino grinned back looking rather pleased.

"Do you mind if we join you ladies?" the guy spoke again.

Temari did a quick check.

They were all not too bad looking overall. They were nothing like Sasuke or Shikamaru, but pretty decent and hard to come across none-of-the-less.

Hinata and Tenten made a face that clearly read 'no', however Ino took a glimpse at them, then turned back to the guys, "Sure, if you buy us all a drink"

The blonde leader chuckled, "Of course".

As the guys ordered drinks for the group, Temari could clearly see the men's intentions.

They were each targeting a certain girl as though they planned it beforehand.

It only made her want to hurl.

After quick introductions, the blonde leader, known as Saito, kept conversing to Ino.

The rest spoke as a group and as the conversation kept flowing, Temari knew who she was targeted by.

It was a brunette named Kento.

Every time he gave Temari a sly look or a discreet wink, instead of wooing her, she just felt sick.

"So Temari...you're not from around here?" Kento asked in a smooth tone.

"Yeah..." Temari replied in a bored tone.

Kento laughed, "Wow, that's a bit cold"

Temari stayed silent.

"I heard you're quite the athlete...I'm actually the captain of the track team at my school" Kento attempted to bring up conversation.

'_Oh please, I'm not that easy to impress...'_ Temari thought to herself, though she felt like amusing him a little, "Oh really? You seem to hear quite a few things about me"

Kento laughed again, "Of course, all the guys in this room are talking and looking at you, plus your friends were mentioning it before"

'_So I'm some sort of trophy am I?'_ Temari snarled to herself.

"How could they not look at you? After all, you're quite outstanding" Kento flirted.

Temari sighed for a bit, but played along, "Funny you say that, since I'm usually known as the Ice Queen at school as most people rather not associate themselves with me"

Kento chuckled, "Well, I guess _some_ guys_ like_ girls who play hard to get" he winked suggestively.

A shiver went down Temari's spine.

'_Such a try hard...hurry up and disappear'_ she refrained saying out loud so not to spoil the mood for Ino or Sakura who seem to be enjoying the male's company.

'_Since when did I become a softy and put up with this shit for others?_' she then asked herself.

She looked at Tenten and Hinata who also looked rather uncomfortable.

They had to get out of there.

"Umm...so who's up for some more dancing?" Temari quickly suggested.

Tenten had a relieved look on her face, "I sure am! You want to join us Hinata?"

Hinata smiled in relief as well and nodded, "M-hmm"

Ino and Sakura shuffled out of the way to let them leave.

Only problem was, the three guys followed them to the dance floor.

Tenten, Hinata and Temari tried to stick together, but the guys were persistent in sticking close to them and eventually they all got separated from one another.

Temari grimaced as she noticed it was only Kento and herself.

He kept dancing closer and closer to her even though she was subtly moving away.

'_Can't he take a hint?" _she growled.

"You're quite the dancer aren't you?" Kento smiled as his eyes wondered all over her.

This irked Temari, "Not really. I'm not actually a fan..." she moved back.

He followed as expected, "That's surprising as this was your suggestion"

"Well...I guess I found it awkward to just sit and watch others dance..." Temari laughed nervously.

He grinned then whispered in her ear, "What do you say we get out of here?"

Temari pulled a face of disgust, "No thanks. I'm actually..."

Kento placed a finger in front of her mouth signalling her to be quiet, "I don't mind if you have a boyfriend or anything you know. I also don't mind a little struggle..."

Temari snapped and smacked his hand away from her face, "Look! Take a hint! I'm not interested and I never will be so BACK OFF"

Kento just laughed, "Don't be so harsh Temari. I'm only being nice; I don't see why you need to yell"

Temari snarled, "I'm yelling because you obviously don't get it. I'm. not. interested. Now go away!"

"_You_ obviously don't get it" Kento grabbed Temari's wrist and pulled her closer, "You see, it's like this: my group of guys always target the hottest group of girls in every club we go to. We then make a bet to see who can go the furthest with their girl by the end of the night where the winner takes all. So why don't you play nice and go along with it. I promise I'll treat you nicely and tomorrow you can wake up and forget all about me"

Temari tried to free herself from his grip, but he was surprisingly strong, "You disgust me"

Kento just laughed again, "Now, now. There's no need to be like that" he patronised, "I'm trying to be honest here. I actually think you're smoking hot and I know that 'Ice Queen' act of yours is just a mask. Come on, play with me a little"

He then whispered in Temari's ear, "I promise I'll be gentle"

'_Why, oh why do I ALWAYS attract the biggest creeps know to man-kind'_ Temari sighed in disbelief.

She then raised her hand to slap him, but he caught it.

"You're not being very co-operative Temari..." his tone changed and then he started to drag her towards the door away from the crowd.

As they were about to separate from the mob and before Temari got the chance to kick him, a slender, yet man-like hand grabbed Kento's wrist.

"Let her go"

Temari turned to see Shikamaru and lowered her leg.

"Who the hell are you?" Kento questioned

Shikamaru tightened his grip, "I said LET GO OF HER NOW"

Temari shivered for a second, as always whenever Shikamaru raised his voice.

"Look, I don't know who the hell you are, but I'm going to take this young lady out and it has nothing to do with you so BACK OFF MATE" Kento then raised his voice in return.

"She obviously doesn't want to go. Don't start making things troublesome. If you let go now, I will forgive and forget and we'll go our separate ways" Shikamaru's eyes went cold.

Kento moved aback and his grip loosened a little as Shikamaru's tightened, "You have no right to say that man..."

"You have three seconds. If you don't let go, then it's not my responsibility to whatever happens next"

Temari just stood dumbfounded at the scene taking place in front of her.

"Who do you think you are?"

"One"

"You think you scare me? You wish"

"Two"

"You're just some scrawny random. Mind your own business you dumbshit"

"Three"

Shikamaru then raised his fist and punched Kento in the face.

He flew into a group of people who screamed at contact.

"You little..." Kento spoke in a threatening tone

Then a security guy appeared, "What's the problem here?"

'_Oh no, this looks bad...'_ Temari thought to herself.

Kento perked up, "That bloody idiot punched me in the face for no reason!"

"I see..." the security guard then walked up to Kento and picked him up, binding his arms behind him.

"Wait, what are you doing? I'm the victim here! Remove that guy not me!" Kento argued and struggled against the guard's grip.

"I told you that you had three seconds..." Shikamaru mentioned and sighed.

"What?" Kento yelled.

Temari looked at Shikamaru surprised.

"Who the hell are you to her anyway?" Kento demanded

Shikamaru put his arm around Temari and looked at him, "I'm her boyfriend you idiot"

Then he grinned, "Checkmate".

Shikamaru lead Temari away outside the building as Kento was being escorted out the other way in a rougher manner.

"You really have a knack at attracting the worse of them, don't you, troublesome woman?" he then sat back down onto the floor leaning his back against the wall at the side of the building.

Temari looked away, "You don't have to tell me twice. I'm with one of them now"

Shikamaru grinned, "You just don't give up do you?"

Temari gave an embarrassed look and looked away.

There was a silence, "Fine, thank you"

"What?" Shikamaru asked with a bit of cheek.

"I'm not saying it again" Temari growled flicking her heads back to look at him.

"Come on..." Shikamaru beckoned

"No way" Temari argued.

Shikamari didn't push any further, instead he grabbed her hand, "Sit down with me"

Temari didn't take her hand away, "Why should I?"

Shikamaru looked up at her, "Because I can tell your feet are killing you right now"

Temari then noticed a throbbing at the back of her heel.

She decided to take up on his offer and sat down.

Shikamaru took her foot and started undoing her shoe.

"What are you doing?" Temari questioned but didn't move.

Shikamaru didn't answer. He finished undoing the strap and took the heel off.

As he did, Temari felt a cooling sensation on her foot.

He then took out a couple of bandaids and stuck them over her forming blisters.

"You brought bandaids?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Let's say I had a sixth sense that you were going to hurt yourself somehow..." he chuckled to himself.

Temari huffed, but said nothing.

When he was done, he carefully placed her foot back down on the pavement.

She looked at her bandaid covered foot and murmured 'Thanks'

"What was that?" Shikamaru looked at her in surprise, "did you manage to say that _twice?_"

Temari flushed, "Shut up-" but before she could say anything more, Shikamaru's lips had covered hers.

She did not protest and kissed him back.

They stayed like that for a while and eventually, their lips parted.

Shikamaru then grabbed her hand and scratched the back of his head nervously, "I'm just glad I could see you at the top of the balcony"

Temari tightened her grip between his fingers, "Yeah, me too"

Then they both looked up at the starry sky for a moment keeping their hands held together.

"Well shall we head back?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari paused for a second, "Yeah..."

* * *

Well that's all for now!

Sorry I'm a bit out of practice, but I hope the Shikatema scene fulfilled your wishes.

It's so hard to keep them in character sometimes since they're not the fluffy type, yet I want a fluff-like scene!

Well I hope they weren't OOC at all.

I tried to enforce some teasing, but ah, I did enjoy making Kento a total creep.

Well please review if you can.

I will try to keep updating and DON'T WORRY, I WON'T STOP THIS SERIES AND WILL SEE IT TO THE END

Much Love

Chanel~


	31. My Sadistic Bastard

Hello Hello!

I apologise for my long league of absence...life's been pretty hectic for me lately so I'm sorry for not writing in a long time.

You may have to read back to know where we're up to...sorry about that as well. I did a mini recap but it may not be that helpful as a cue.

I even had to read back and remember...gosh I'm a terrible writer.

I'm also writing a new story, but not a fanfiction, but a story of my own. I hoping to get it published and if it does, please support me then too! (looking far ahead much?)

Thanks goes to those who have reviewed, I know right now that I probably don't deserve them: wintercrystal; Sofanje; chichi11101; Sandanio; EmbersoftheNightChild; animedude; JustLikeShika; U r awesome; XeniaKunoichi; smiled811998; Consuming Endless Nightmare; KoZuMi4EvA45; Naruphonia13; Uchihaforlife; therainfalls4me; CatDevilAsian; Sandyx5; Epicslowdown2; Cyber227; .shikatema; Devilocity666; DesertRoseSparty; Van Basten; Stubbe; RoboticRythem; ShikaxTema4evanodoubt; AnimeMaster107; ShiNatoka-chan; Kushina Batoretto; .Madness; The Ran; The girl with purple sneakers; Leonard So; Hailey; Yuusaki Kuchiki; Seashells1000; Russell Satsuki; samgurl01; obidixwanovic; Tenten; ruvy ann; Wingblade; jade; Jenn; 'Guest'; Pokemon and Naruto lover and theleafyninja

Much love to you all! It would be great if you can all continue to ;)

Well, here we go again...A NEW CHAPTER!

* * *

**Recap:**

_The group decided to drown their worst thoughts of what was about to come by going clubbing (the solution to everything apparently)._

_Some sleaze named Kento got hammered by Shikamaru and taken away as he was attempting to do the nasty with Temari (not that she would've allowed it anyway)._

_Hinata and Tenten are yet to be saved as they are also being hit on by some random guys that are friends with Kento._

_Shikamaru was being a cutie and bandaged Temari's feet afterwards which was rewarded by a mutual kiss._

* * *

"We better head back inside," Temari suggested as she started to buckle up her heels reluctantly, "we have to save Tenten and Hinata."

"I guess...how troublesome," Shikamaru gave a word of complaint.

With shoes all buckled, Temari stood up and walked over to the door with Shikamaru following close behind her.

She pushed the door open to see a much different sight then what it was before she had left.

The music was too loud to hear anything, but people were no longer dancing and instead clearing way for a very angry Kiba and a disgusted looking Neji.

The two guys that were flirting around with Hinata and Tenten were standing between them and Neji and Kiba.

"Ey man...find your own girls, we've got them covered." One of the scummy guys said to Neji.

"You find _your_ own girls, they're already ours you bastard!" Kiba snarled.

"Well it's not like they're complaining about our company...isn't that right babe?" then the guy went in for a kiss on Hinata.

Kiba and Neji were about to run in for an attack...until Hinata suddenly squealed and gave the guy an uppercut right under the chin.

The guy fell back onto the floor and sat back up rubbing his chin which was turning red, "you bitc-"

He was interrupted as Hinata then landed a kick arms flailing and from the look of her face, she was simply distressed and throwing everything she's got.

Kiba blinked.

Tenten blinked.

Neji (half?) blinked.

She continued kicking and hitting until Kiba had to run in and hold her back from behind, "That's enough, stop, stop, he's already gone..."

Hinata then opened her teary eyes and blinked to see the unconscious guy lying on the floor beaten black and blue all over and pools of blood flowing out of his nose.

"No one beats up my friend and gets away with it!" guy number two who was hitting on Tenten yelled out, but before he could do anything, Neji ran swiftly behind him and started jabbing certain points on his back.

The man fell paralysed on the floor, "Wh-What did you do to me?"

"I simply pressed certain pressure points on your back that will result in temporary paralysis. Don't worry, it should wear out in about ten minutes, however you will be a bit sore and your muscle and joints may ache a bit as well." Neji replied coolly.

"Looks like they beat us to it" Shikamaru quoted while peeping behind Temari's shoulder at the door as Temari froze in the doorway.

"Who would've thought Hinata had it in her..." Temari blinked with disbelief.

"Don't be fooled by her innocent and docile look...she's still a Hyuuga and they're insane."

"Pretty sure all of the families in our group are..."

Kiba continued to rage on by cursing at the two men on the floor in a loud manner.

Three security guards then came into the picture following behind Ino who ordered them to escort the two guys on the floor out. The other guard was dragging the guy who was targeting Ino before.

Temari looked around to see where Sasuke and Naruto were. She then spotted the familiar blonde giving a rather greasy look towards a girl with long, black hair who was making conversation with Sasuke.

The oddest thing was, besides the fact that Sasuke hasn't walked away and is instead holding a rather odd expression, that the girl was wearing a sailor school girl uniform.

'_Cosplay...?'_ Temari thought to herself. _Wouldn't the bouncers question why she was wearing her school uniform?_

"UGH!" Ino stomped around towards Temari and Shikamaru, "The whole night is RUINED!"

"I thought you were getting along with...uh...what's his name?" Temari questioned.

"He was totally gross! I thought he was a nice guy, but the next thing I know, he's inviting me over to his place and couldn't keep his hands to himself...I'm not some easy slut you know?!" Ino squealed.

Temari and Shikamaru covered their ears wincing at her shrieking voice.

"I'm with Ino, let's go..." Tenten suggested.

"Let's blow this joint, I feel like crap now." Kiba growled and grumbled.

Hinata and Neji just nodded in agreement.

"For once, I agree..." Shikamaru smirked.

"Anyway, let just get Naruto and Sasuke and leave...where are they anyway?" Ino asked.

"He's over there" Temari pointed towards his direction.

They all walked over to them, but then Kiba stopped them holding his arm out in front.

"What is it Kiba?" Hinata asked in a much louder voice than usual in order to be heard over the blasting music.

"S-S-Sasuke ENGAGING IN CONVERSATION WITH A GIRL!" Kiba exclaimed in fright.

"Y-Your right..." Tenten gave a puzzled look.

"I don't really want to stand around and gawk, let's hurry up and tell him and Naruto that we're leaving." Shikamaru sighed.

The group continued to walk in the their direction, "Come on Sasuke, Naruto, we're leaving!" Kiba called out to them.

"I wonder what she looks like..." Tenten whispered over to Neji direction.

"Well depends, what would she HAVE to look like to keep Sasuke interested?" Neji answered.

"Maybe she's really beautiful that even Sasuke can't look away?" Hinata suggested.

"There's no way she's prettier than me in THAT outfit and I've been trying to grab his attention for, like, EVER!" Ino butted in.

"Me too. Maybe she's actually REALLY ugly that you can't look away" Sakura added.

"When did you get here? What were you doing?" Temari raised an eyebrow at the random appearance of Sakura.

"Sorry, I just needed to pound some guy into a wall for being a creep" Sakura smiled innocently.

Naruto's head perked up, "Oh! There you guys are!"

"Guess he didn't hear me call out to him" Kiba commented.

Naruto rested his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "Come on Sasuke, everyone's going now."

Sasuke looked at him and nodded.

"Oh, your 'friends' I see..." The long black haired broad spoke, "Are you sure they are worthy of you, Sasuke...?"

'_There's something odd about her voice...'_ Temari thought to herself, _'But it could just be the loud music that's causing it to sound weird'._

Naruto gritted his teeth and then suddenly grabbed her collar, "Look here! Stop talking like you know shit! Sasuke is one of us and a part of our group so stop messing with his head already! I've had enough! HE'S NOT INTERESTED IN YOU!"

"You're quite the feisty one aren't you...?" She licked her lips with her long tongue.

"Oi Naruto! You don't go handling a girl like that!" Kiba butted in and released her from Naruto's grip, "I'm sorry about the idiot over there, are you oka—"

Kiba stopped speaking halfway with a surprised and sick look on his face.

"What's the matter K-Kiba...?" Hinata asked and walked over to him. She turned to look at the girls face and then let out a slight gasp.

By then, they all rushed over and saw her face.

The she was actually a he.

"Oh, you all must be mesmerised by my true beauty and youthful face" the man spoke in his gravel-like voice.

The group just continued to stare at the man.

"W-Who are you exactly...?" Tenten dared to ask.

"My name is Orochimaru. I am not actually a high school student, but you would never guess my age!" he gave a creepy smile.

"Uh...huh..." the group responded in sync.

"Orochimaru-sama~~" a voice could be heard.

Another person in a matching sailor uniform skipped towards the group.

"Ah! Kabuto!" Orochimaru cried out.

"Orochimaru-sama~ We must go now, it is time for your next appointment."

"Well, it seems like I must take my leave now..." Orochimaru pointed out, "so I say farewell to you all, and Sasuke..."

Sasuke looked over at him.

"Give me a call if you're interested in our services or if you want to join us" Orochimaru handed over a business card with a wink.

A shiver went down everyone's spine.

* * *

They all exited the building.

"So, to catch Sasuke's attention, I will have to dress like a girl..." Kiba joked.

"Shut up!" Sasuke looked embarrassed.

Neji and Shikamaru grinned, whereas Temari and Tenten laughed.

"K-Kiba!" Hinata told him off.

"Don't be mean to Sasuke!" Sakura yelled out.

"Yeah!" Ino agreed.

"Wow Sasuke, I'm so jealous. Your fan club still backs you up even if you're into cross dressers!" Kiba continued.

Sasuke scowled and Naruto looked away.

"Sasuke was only looking because it was shocking! Not because he was interested...right Sasuke?" Sakura continued sounding a bit hesitant at the end of her sentence.

"Can you all just **SHUT THE HELL UP**?!" Sasuke ordered.

This caused everyone to laugh.

"Alright, I'll arrange the limo to come and pick us up" Ino flicked out her phone.

"You know, my house is close by anyway so I think I'll just walk home instead..." Temari suggested feeling rather tired of being around people.

"But Temari! Surely your feet are killing you and a limousine would be much more comfortable!" Sakura argued.

"I think I need a bit of fresh air after being stuffed into a crowded room like that..." Temari reasoned.

Hinata gave an earnest look, "But you can't walk home on your own at this time of night!"

"I'll be fine!" Temari grumbled hating the fact that she sounded as if she needed to be protected.

"Shikamaru! Go with her!" Ino ordered the lazy man.

"Walking...so damn troublesome aren't you Temari?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her.

Temari scowled, "Don't worry, I'm going on my own" and she stomped away in the direction of her house.

"Temari!" Sakura called out.

She then stopped and sighed, not because of Sakura, but she could here someone's familiar shuffling footsteps following after her.

She spun around quickly, "I thought walking was troublesome?!" she yelled at him.

"Everything about you is troublesome, but that doesn't stop me from being with you now does it?" Shikamaru sighed looking away awkwardly.

Temari didn't argue.

"Wait a second!" Ino ran over to them "I forgot to give you this" Ino handed an envelope over to Temari.

"What is this?" Temari asked.

"Your reward" Ino winked and then walked away.

'_Oh yeah, I almost forgot about this...the only reason I came today.'_ Temari thought to herself.

Shikamaru and Temari continued to walk away towards Temari's house.

"So, what is it? This 'reward'?" Shikamaru asked as curiosity got the better of him.

"I actually don't really know, but it was the only reason I came tonight"

"Are you going to open it?"

"Now?"

"Well, why not?"

"You sure you're not going to regret it?"

"Should I? Does it have something to do with me?"

"It could"

Temari and Shikamaru stopped walking and stared at the suspicious envelope.

"I guess I could open it now..." Temari thought for a bit.

"Hmm" was all that Shikamaru said in reply.

'_But what if it is something really embarrassing about me? Wait, then it wouldn't really be a reward. But the reward could be her giving back blackmail material, but is there anything she has on me that could be used as blackmail? It's only an envelope and it doesn't really feel that thick, maybe it's a card or a letter, but the question would be what's in it. God this is nerve-wracking!"_ Temari argued in her mind.

"That's it! I'm opening it now" Temari cried out and opened the envelope quickly before she could hesitate again.

She then pulled out the contents, "Ph-Photos?!"

"OF ME?!" Shikamaru exclaimed in shock probably for the first time ever in his life.

"Oh not just any photos of you, BABY PHOTOS!" Temari cried cracking up in laughter.

"Gimme those!" Shikamaru leaped forward trying to grab a hold of them.

"Nuh-uh-uh!" Temari cooed while swiftly pulling her arm away dodging Shikamaru's desperate attempts, "aww look at that cute chubby face of yours, and that bib!"

"Shut up! Stop looking!" Shikamaru demanded still trying to steal the photos off Temari.

"Naww, there's another one with you dressed up in a deer jumpsuit! So cute~"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, "Whatever, remind me to kill Ino later; and please don't share those photos to anyone else."

Temari looked at Shikamaru's face which was now a shade of pink with ears all red as he was embarrassed.

'_How cute...'_ she couldn't help but think.

Shikamaru slumped on the floor in defeat.

"Ah! There's another photo left in the envelope..." Temari pointed out as she saw something sticking out of the envelope.

Shikamaru looked up, still slumped on the floor.

Temari pulled out the photo...then her ears turned a deep crimson colour.

After witnessing Temari's change in facial expression, he suddenly stood up and had a look at the photo himself. He then matched Temari's red face soon after.

It was a photo of them with Temari's head resting on Shikamaru's shoulder, both asleep.

"It-It can't be!" Temari gasped.

Shikamaru wracked his head and then a light bulb lit up, "Wait isn't this from the hot springs trip we took during Golden Week?"

"I thought you deleted that photo though!" Temari argued.

"Knowing Ino, she probably took two photos, or one of the other girls also took a photo with their phones. We were asleep so anything could've happened..."

"Argh! This is so annoying..."

They both continued to look at the photo, and then they looked at each other.

Eyes softened, lips relaxed, they kissed yet again for the night warming each other from the cold night with their breath.

"What was that for?" Temari quirked.

"...Can't you just stay quiet and enjoy the moment for once...?" Shikamaru remarked.

"Nup!" Temari perked and gave him a quick peck and ran in front and continued their walk.

Shikamaru grinned, "and why is that?"

Temari paused and turned around pouting, "Because I still find it embarrassing..."

Shikamaru chuckled, "Yeah" then grabbed her hand.

Temari looked at him somewhat gawking at his initiation.

"Don't get me wrong," Shikamaru commented as if to reply to her facial expression, "I'm only doing this because you don't like it." His ears started to turn red again.

Temari paused and grinned, "I said it was a bit embarrassing...never said I hated it..."

Shikamaru went bright red.

Temari gave him another look, "You're not thinking of anything _dirty _are you?"

Shikamaru's face turned a deeper shade of red, "Don't be...well since you don't hate it!" and then let go of Temari's hand.

"Hey! No I hate it! Absolutely HATE it, it's the worst thing ever and makes me feel sick."

Shikamaru chuckled again and grabbed her hand, "I get it."

They then walked in silence.

"Sadistic bastard..." Temari murmured under her breath.

Shikamaru laughed.

* * *

Sorry about such the long delay...to be honest I lost the feeling of writing, btu it seems I'm sort of back again!

I will try my hardest to start updating more often again, sorry for being a bit of a disappointment for everyone and for having such a LOOONG delay.

I actually got back to writing after reading the reviews...I didn't even realise that I have somehow accumulated 753 reviews! I was completely surprised...then I knew I couldn't hold it out for any longer and disappoint you guys for being so kind.

Thank you everyone so much, I will try my hardest!

Chanel~


	32. The Storm Before The Storm

Here I am again!

I'm trying to get back to this fanfiction and start writing more often again.

I understand that I may be a little off, it's been a while, I even forgot where we were up to, so please bear with me until I get back into the groove again

Thank you to those who have been with me and still reviewing for this lazy, sucky writer:

i. love. shikatema; Uchihaforlife; Consuming Endless Nightmare; 3 Words That Mean The World; Skaii-Chan 3's U; D1000100; Russel Satsuki; Stubbe; animedude16; smiles811998; snorlaz; theleafyninja; Guest; LuvxHugs; KoZuMi4EvA45; Justlikeshika; Yuusaki Kuchiki; Xakousti

I really can't thank you all enough for all of the support you've given me~

You're the reason for my return.

I actually went and re-read EVERY review this story has gained...no joke.

Thank you guys for making my day brighter 3

* * *

**Recap:**

_The gang received a message from the Akatsuki to meet them at school at 6:30pm on Saturday._

_Even with all this happening, Ino somehow convinced the gang to go clubbing that night._

_Shikamaru helped Temari from being hit on by some creep (yet again, geez how many times do they need to get hit on?)_

_Hinata beat some nameless guy senseless._

_Temari gained some cute baby photos of Shikamaru, as a reward from Ino, and called Shikamaru a 'sadistic bastard'._

_A bit of time has passed and now it's the day before the confrontation with the Akatsuki._

* * *

"Remember; don't think of the gauntlets as an external weapon, think of them as an extension of yourself. Once you are able to think that way, you've taken a large step closer to fully utilising them." Asuma assured Shikamaru who was panting and sweating beads completely out of breath.

"Every time I wear them, I feel like my fists have gained about ten kilos, not easy to think of them as an extension of myself. The more I move and the more tired I am, the heavier they get." Shikamaru spoke between huffs.

"That's why I got you to train your arm muscles. Another thing that you need to know is that you're too forceful. Pure strength and force isn't everything when it comes to a real fight. If you fight so tensely, you'll definitely lose. Relax and go with the flow. Think of fighting like the movement of water." Asuma advised.

"Water...? Are you sure your cigarettes aren't doing any brain damage?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

Asuma laughed out loud, "No I'm completely serious. Think about ripples on water. If you run after it, it bounces away, however if you stay still or move with it, it'll come rushing to you and gently graze your legs. Fighting is the same. Flow with the opponents motions and use their strength against them. I've noticed you've been working hard trying to get fit since you're starting to tone up a lot more, but you will probably be facing people who are much more muscular than you are. Your body isn't made to have huge muscles, but if you learn how to utilise what you have and fight properly, even if the opponent is a weight lifter, you can easily win."

Shikamaru took in what he was hearing and flexed his arm muscles a bit. They definitely existed and protruded quite a bit, but they only came out if he flexed, otherwise they just disappeared.

"Look, come at me with the gauntlets" Asuma beckoned by flicking his fingers upwards.

"Are you crazy? These things are sharp, especially now after I gave them a good fix up."

"How are you going to learn _real_ combat if we keep practising on trees and dummys that don't fight back?"

Shikamaru paused, "Alright" and started charging in with his fist forward.

Asuma stepped to the side, grabbed Shikamaru's wrist and threw him forward onto the ground and gave the back of his head a tap.

"See? You came at me with a sharp weapon and high speed, yet look where we're standing now. I hardly used any strength, not even breaking a sweat and you're lying on the floor covered in mud. If I was being serious and hit the back of your head as hard as I could, you would be very dizzy and hurt right now."

Shikamaru got up from the floor and dusted himself off, "I get it. This way you also lose less energy and can last longer in fight."

"If you're lucky, you might get an actual body builder to fight. Muscle heads are easy to take on, they rely on their muscles to do the fighting, so they lack in everything else like accuracy and speed. As long as you don't get hit, the fight is as good as yours."

"Water huh?" Shikamaru took a look at his shiny gauntlet in his right hand, "I think I've got it now."

Asuma grinned, "Don't get too cocky. Don't think a complete amateur like you can understand such a concept so easily. Now come at me!"

Shikamaru grinned and did so. He came charging in such as before.

Asuma smirked, "See idiot." And grabbed Shikamaru's arm again.

However this time, Shikamaru swung around in front of Asuma so that Asuma's arm was wrapped around his own body.

Asuma released his grip and went in for a kick.

Shikamaru then stepped aside to his other leg and hit the back of Asuma's knee that was supporting his stance.

Asuma then fell forward and laid on his back stunned while Shikamaru put the sharp edge of his gauntlet to Asuma's neck.

"I am a genius remember." Shikamaru grinned and stood back up off Asuma.

Asuma sat up and rubbed the back of his head, "You sure are."

Shikamaru gave him a hand to stand back up.

"I'm feeling ready now." Shikamaru commented.

Asuma looked straight at him. "It's tomorrow isn't it?"

Shikamaru nodded, "I'm going to face this head on like I should've in the first place. I'll fight for what's important and win at all costs no matter what. I'm willing to give everything I am for this. There's now no time left to hesitate. Losing is not an option."

Asuma gave him a hard look and then sighed, "You've learnt so much, yet you haven't learnt what is really important."

Shikamaru flicked his head and looked straight at Asuma, "What do you mean?"

"You're missing something. They way you are now, you will go far, but without it, maybe not far enough."

"I don't understand! I've listened to everything you've said. I've trained and practiced constantly, what is it I'm missing?"

Asuma sighed again, "It would be pointless for me to just tell you. It's something you need to find out for yourself in order to grow. There are some things you simply can't just 'teach' and 'be told'."

Shikamaru pouted as there was nothing he could've said to change his mind.

Asuma watched Shikamaru's troubled face and chuckled, "Don't worry, you're a smart kid, it'll kick in when it really counts for sure," and gave a reassuring smile.

"I guess I have no choice but to rely on those words..." Shikamaru sighed, "Enough talk, let's keep at it."

Asuma laughed, "Are you sure you're Shikamaru?"

* * *

After practice, Shikamaru continued on his way home.

'_Damn that Asuma! Telling me this now when tomorrows the day. He should have just said nothing, now I'm going to be think about it all day and night and probably won't be able to get any proper sleep. Damnit! Why mention something so important this late?!'_ Shikamaru cursed to himself.

He took a turn, _'What is it exactly that I'm missing? After our talk today, it can't be something physical like strength or agility. I've been progressing pretty well with my skills when it comes to fighting and using the gauntlets. Does that mean it's something on a mental level? Geez stupid old man speaking in riddles...Ah! There was that thing with that girl Rin that he protected. What did he say again? Oh yeah, when protecting someone look after yourself otherwise it can hurt them...or something. Well that's a given, Temari would kill me if I hurt myself stupidly over her...wouldn't a normal reaction for a girl to be thankful instead of angry? Bah! That woman is so troublesome and far from normal...but if it really came to it and I had no choice, then for sure..."_ Shikamaru clenched his fists.

"Who's a weirdo now?" a familiar voice spoke from behind.

Shikamaru broke away from his deep thinking and turned to see a somewhat annoyed looking Temari, arms crossed, looking right at him.

"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked raising an eyebrow at her sudden appearance.

"Shouldn't _I_ be the one saying that...since, y'know, you're kinda standing in front of my house."

Shikamaru looked to his right and as clear as day, there was Temari's house. "What the-? I was heading to my house, how did I end up here?"

Temari gave him a blank look, "Oh and _I'm _the weirdo..."

Shikamaru made the assumption he was thinking out loud, "I didn't call you a 'weirdo'. You can't disagree that you are far from a 'normal, stereotypical' girl, and it's not even worth a discussion about the fact you are probably the most troublesome woman I've ever met."

Temari opened her mouth, and then closed it. Taking a good look at Shikamaru, even though he was trying to act like his usual bored self, she could tell that something was off.

She took a step forward, "Hey, are you alright...?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened, "Well I'm actually more surprised about how normal you're acting to be honest. It's all happening tomorrow, your life is practically at risk and you're acting so normal about it."

Temari paused, "Well to be honest, I'm actually pretty frightened. I don't really know what to do, or how to react. The reason I'm not panicking is probably because I'm still in shock, I don't think I have really taken it in that everything's going to change starting tomorrow."

Shikamaru raised his head and looked straight at her.

"Remember, I'm not exactly 'normal'." Temari continued gracing a large cheesy smile where all of her teeth are shown.

Suddenly Shikamaru grabbed Temari's arm and pulled her closer into a warm embrace.

"Shi-Shikamaru..." Temari slightly struggled, "I-I can't breath-"

"No matter what," Shikamaru started cutting Temari off, "No matter what I will protect you and keep you safe from harm. I won't let bastards like Hidan or anyone else take you away. I promise, I'll do everything in my power to win this thing so we can continue every day after tomorrow like nothing has changed."

In Shikamaru's arms, Temari could feel his shake and quiver.

'_Everything starts tomorrow. It really is happening...I didn't know how to feel, but the way Shikamaru's acting, I-I'm actually scared. Hidan's eyes were cold; everyone's not just fighting for themselves, but for me too. Shikamaru's actually only thinking about me, he's not caring about himself at all...this is scary.' _Temari's eyes started to tear up and she hugged back.

"Shikamaru you don't have to-"

Temari's words were interrupted abruptly by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Both Shikamaru and Temari flicked their head to the direction of where the sound came from.

Standing there was Gaara arms crossed, "Sorry to interrupt suddenly..." he continued.

Temari and Shikamaru paused, then realised the position they were in and flew apart both of their ears bright red in colour from embarrassment.

"N-nothing to interrupt; what's wrong Gaara?" Temari stuttered slightly.

"I need to have a word with Shikamaru alone for a bit, is that alright?" Gaara then turned his head to face Shikamaru waiting for a response.

"Ah, yeah sure." Shikamaru answered not sure how to react.

Gaara nodded his head, "Follow me then please."

Gaara walked into the house and Shikamaru did as was told and followed.

'_Shit he walked into a pretty embarrassing moment. What if he's here to threaten me to stay away from Temari? Kankurou wasn't very happy with me...I thought Gaara was okay with it, but maybe he was holding back in front of Temari since he seems to be a lot more mature. One thing is for sure, since the very start I've sensed that he is a lot stronger and powerful than Kankurou. He has a small build, but something is off...Kankurou doesn't seem weak or anything either and I'm well aware of how strong Temari is, this family is dangerous...man I've gotten myself involved in a pretty troublesome family...' _

Gaara lead Shikamaru the dining table where he sat and beckoned Shikamaru to take the seat across from him.

Shikamaru sat down and looked at Gaara not sure if it's rude to give eye contact or not.

"Shikamaru...tomorrow is a big day and we'll be facing a lot of challenges..." Gaara began speaking.

'_Oh it's about tomorrow...thank god, I'm actually somewhat relieved...'_ Shikamaru thought to himself as he could feel a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his head.

"Kankurou and I will be busy dealing with Sasori, there's a lot needed to be dealt with in terms of our own family issues...that's why I can only entrust Temari to you."

Shikamaru's eyes widened and mouth slightly dropped, "Wait, you're actually entrusting her to me?"

Gaara grinned, "I'm not childish like Kankurou. You were probably thinking I'm against your relationship, that you've been terrible at hiding, but if anything, I would be _more_ worried if Temari didn't find someone; after all she is still a high school girl. She was restricted to experience anything like this back at home, so I'm glad she was able to find her happiness here." Gaara joined his hands together, "Shikamaru, as you know Temari is strong and very prideful. She had to be that way in order to survive under the pressure our father placed on her; because of that, she doesn't like to rely on others, or feel the need to be protected and likes to take her fights head on without a second thought; however...because of that she can be short-sighted and not see that what's in front of her which may be too big for herself to handle. That is why I entrust her to you. Stop her from getting ahead of herself and make sure she stays safe."

Shikamaru looked at Gaara to make sure he was serious and then smirked, "No, I don't think I can."

Gaara gave a shocked look, "What do you mea-"

"You know how Temari is. You can't stop her; however I will face those obstacles with her and make sure they are downsized." Shikamaru interrupted, "Don't worry, you didn't have to ask, I'll do everything I can to protect her...without her noticing that is." Then realising what he said, he could feel his face gradually increasing in temperature.

Gaara smirked, "Well I guess I have nothing to worry about. Thank you for having this discussion with me," he then stood up and headed towards the door.

"Ah...no-no problem..." Shikamaru mumbled clumsily rising from his seat.

At the door, Gaara turned around to face Shikamaru, "None of the less, even though I trust you now, do anything out of line and that could easily change." Gaara eyes turned cold and then he walked out the door.

'_This family...don't forget Shikamaru, they're all scary...'_

Shikamaru finished standing up to see Temari walked in as Gaara walked out, "Oh you're done" she said watching Gaara walking out, "What were you guys talking about?" she asked now turned to look at Shikamaru.

"Just talking about tomorrow," Shikamaru carefully replied, _'I'm not lying or anything...just leaving out parts that may irk her; smart decision Shikamaru...I've got to stop talking to myself.'_

"Oh, fair enough," by this time they were standing up facing each other.

Not knowing what else to say, the air gradually grew awkward.

"Well I guess I better go-" Shikamaru was then cut off with the sound of a huge crash.

"What was that?" Temari flicked her head to where she thought the sound was coming from being alert.

"Sounded like something broke and crashed down..." Shikamaru replayed the sound in his head analysing it over and over.

They both ran to the front and took a look out of the window. A large storm was raging. It wasn't raining, yet, but the wind blew aggressively moving and knocking over everything in its path. Bins all gathering to the end of the street, trees struggling to stay root, and what seemed to have made the sound was the somewhat large tree that fell over.

"You've got to be frikin' kidding me! It was seriously fine two seconds ago, how on earth did it change into this so suddenly?!" Temari raged in disbelief.

"They suspected a typhoon was approaching all week...but to think it could happen so suddenly like this...I guess we won't have our calm before the storm." Spoke Gaara who approached from behind as usual.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, "As much I would like to go home, there's no way I can go out in weather like that. I might actually die."

"It might not die down until tomorrow morning..." Gaara paused, "I guess you'll have to stay the night here Shikamaru." He continued to speak rather calmly.

"What?!" Shikamaru and Temari spoke back in unison.

"Well what other choice do you have?" Gaara replied to their reaction.

Shikamaru sighed, "fair enough."

"On the positive side, it means Kankurou can't return home..." Gaara then smiled sinisterly.

A shiver went down both Temari's and Shikamaru's spine.

'_I really feel for Kankurou sometimes...'_ Shikamaru thought to himself.

"Temari please prep some clothes for Shikamaru to change into. He should fit Kankurou's clothing just fine. You can sleep on the couch tonight, but you might want to shower and change before dinner..." Gaara then took a look at Shikamaru's clothes.

Shikamaru looked down to see his clothes covered in dirt and he was a little bit sweaty, _'Right, I forgot I was training all day with Asuma...I even forcefully hugged Temari...'_

"I'll take you up on that offer then if you don't mind."

"You're actually agreeing to stay here?!" Temari exclaimed.

"Well as troublesome as it is, at least it won't literally kill me," Shikamaru shrugged. _'Maybe...'_

"Temari, I would think you'll be mature enough to get over the fact that a boy that's not me or Kankurou is staying over. Now please stop prattling and prepare clothes for the guest." Gaara closed his eyes just like he normally does when he's not accepting any further argument.

Temari stood still for a second more fuming then simply yelled, "Whatever" and stormed off.

She then came back a couple of minutes later, whilst Shikamaru sat on the couch waiting, with a couple pieces of clothing in her hands, "Here" she simply said handing them over to Shikamaru.

"It's the only thing I could spare in his room that doesn't stink." Temari continued looking in the opposite direction.

Shikamaru stared at her for a second, then grinned and accepted what was given, "Thanks..."

There was another awkward pause, "The showers at the end of that hall at the door to the right; you can use the towel on the rack, I just replaced it."

Shikamaru got up somewhat stiffly, "Yeah thanks I'll go now."

He followed the instructions given and surely enough ended up in the bathroom.

Temari walked back and forth and somehow found herself lost on what to do.

* * *

The night went on; the storm grew stronger, that at times it felt like the whole house was shaking.

All three had finished eating dinner together awkwardly in silence.

After cleaning up, Gaara said goodnight and went to his bedroom.

"Gaara sure sleeps early..." Shikamaru commented.

"He doesn't really go to bed though, he just wishes to be alone at this time to do meditating or whatever he does..." Temari replied.

Then again they stood at the dining table not knowing what to do next.

"Want to watch a movie?" Temari offered trying to be a proper host.

Shikamaru calculated in his mind and found that it was probably the soundest option, "Sure."

Temari flicked through her DVDs, _'Romance? No, too suggestive. Action? Looks like's I'm trying too hard to avoid being suggestive. Cartoon it is! Means absolutely nothing. Perfect.'_

Temari places the DVD into the player and started the movie as she laid on the couch that Shikamaru happened to already be sitting on with her feet on his lap.

She was expecting a complaint...but surprisingly, it never came.

The sat together focused intently on the television screen not daring to shift their eyesight to anywhere else.

Half way during the movie, Temari felt a familiar shiver down her spine, "Ah! Umm I'm actually really sleepy that I nearly fell asleep just then...sorry, but feel free to watch the rest of the movie without me before you go to bed." She quickly got up, flashed a quick smile and left the room as quick as the storm came.

Shikamaru continued to sit still completely dumbfounded by the sudden change of rhythm and attitude.

Then thunder sounded and filled the room.

Shikamaru grinned, "Ah, right."

He continued to sit twiddling his fingers, _'Should I go? Ah, but I'm so comfortable on this couch...since she just up and left she obviously doesn't want me around right? Wait, when did I start listening anyway...? Bah! This is troublesome...'_

Whilst thinking about it a little more, contemplating what option would have the most gain, or in this case, less hurt, he finally scratched the back of his head, got up and walked away from his groove.

He crept around the house and finally reached the room which he believed was Temari's bedroom, since he did a bit of curious snooping beforehand, and quietly knocked on the door trying not to wake up Gaara whose location is unknown.

No response followed.

He then knocked again and waited.

Again no response.

Then very carefully, he slowly turned the doorknob. He paused when it squeaked. When no complaint was heard, he timidly widened the door just to give another space to peek through.

It was dark and all he could make out was a lump on what seemed to be the bed.

As a crack of lightening broke through the sky, for an instance light shone through the room and he could make out that the lump on the bed was actually a person wrapped up in blankets.

Looking around the room noticing that the decor was somewhat girly, not pink and fluffy, but things like perfume could be seen that would definitely not be owned by a male, he was reassured that it was Temari's room.

"Temari...?" Shikamaru whispered as quietly as he could, but enough to be heard.

No response was heard.

Shikamaru crept closer to the bed and then bend over to try to find a face.

Temari's body was curled up and face completely buried in her covers.

"Temari...?" Shikamaru repeated.

After a short pause, "What?!" Temari replied gruffly.

Shikamaru stood still, _'Great, I got as far as her room and a response, but I have no idea what to say or what I'm really doing here...what the hell am I doing anyway?'_

Dumbfounded, Shikamaru sat on the bed finding space in the curve of Temari's body.

"Why are you her-EEP!" Thunder struck and the sound filled the room. As a reflex she jumped up and forward and latched herself onto Shikamaru's back.

"Wh-" he reacted in response, then noticed her trembling and decided that he should just stay quiet.

Instead he raised his hand and placed it over one of her ears. While trying to awkwardly twist his body to cover her other, Temari noticed the discomfort and let go of his back and rolled onto her back still cocooned in her sheets. Shikamaru then placed his other hand over her uncovered ear and stayed seated facing her.

Temari started to calm and the thunder begun to subside.

After a few minutes, Shikamaru's arms grew numb, so to ease the discomfort, Shikamaru slowly started to relax and lowered himself to lie on the bed, hands still intact to her ears.

Another few minutes passed, thunder became more of a purr than a roar, and Shikamaru's arms started to twitch as they started to become stiff.

Shikamaru's shifting woke Temari from her state and noticed the somewhat distressed facial expression he had through the dark as he battled with his inner thoughts.

Temari grinned and then moved her body closer to his with her forehead touching his chest.

Shikamaru subtly shifted his arms to cover her ears with his upper arm by hugging her head closer to his chest.

There the couple laid waiting for the troublesome storm to pass.

* * *

"EYY TEMARI EYY!" Yelled a loud voice through Temari's bedroom door.

Temari continued to ignore the white noise as she nuzzled closer to her nice smelling pillow feeling comfortable in her cocoon.

"OI TEMARI? YOU IN THERE?! WHY DID YOU LEAVE THE DVD PLAYER RUNNING ALL NIGHT?" the voice now identified as Kankurou's continued to go on.

Temari's warm pillow shifted in response to the noise, '_shifted?'_

"Hey are you in there...?" Kankurou opened the door and walked in.

Walked in to see Temari and Shikamaru, in bed laying together, hugging.

Kankurou froze at the entrance not able to pull his eyes away from the scene.

"Kankurou...? Why the hell are you creating such a racket so early in the morning?" she question warily.

"Wh-Wh-Why is th-that bastard in your b-bed?" Kankurou just managed to say.

Temari then saw her warm pillow was actually same old Shikamaru, _'not again. Got to stop thinking he's a pillow...'_

Temari tried to move away, however struggled due to being mummified in her sheets and simply rolled over away from Shikamaru's warm embrace.

"You're starting to over react Kankurou, why do you always thinking of the worst case scenario?" Temari yawned mid sentence.

"I'M over reacting? That despicable man is in YOUR BED and you're being disgusting cuddling up and crap and me being angry is OVER REACTING?!"

'_I must admit I am being rather calm about this...'_ Temari thought to herself now blocking out Kankurou from her mind.

With this, Shikamaru finally opened his eyes and somewhat sat up, still drunk on his snooze and saw Kankurou, "mmm...what? Why is Kankurou here?"

Then gradually he woke up taking notice of his surroundings noticing that is wasn't his simple, humble room, nor was he on his bed, and that he was actually laying beside Temari who looked like she wasn't interested in anything else but sleep.

His mouth made an 'o' shape as he connected the dots.

"I SWEAR Nara, I'm going to KILL you!" Kankurou then lurched forward to attack Shikamaru.

As a natural reflex after all of his training, his shifted to the side calmly and Kankurou's face plummeted into the bed head.

"Ah! Sorry..." Shikamaru said hesitantly.

"That's enough Kankurou!" Gaara's cold voice drifted into the room.

"Why the hell am I getting told off for?!" Kankurou argued back.

Gaara responded with a cold glare that instantly cooled down Kankurou's head.

"You are being noisy for absolutely no reason. Take care of analysing what is in front of you before you start attacking anyone. For example, Shikamaru is fully clothed, Temari is completed bound in a blanket with clothes on I assume due to no articles of clothing on the floor and it was storming last night with plenty of thunder. So what's the thing that most likely happened with this evidence?"

Kankurou paused to think for a moment, then he face turned a bright red, "You bastard Shikamaru! You took advantage of my sister's defenceless state and attacked her against her will and then tried to cover up your track-" Kankurou was then interrupted by Temari's foot which was now planted in his stomach throwing him off the bed.

"You are nothing more than an idiot Kankurou, how are we even related?" Gaara shook his head side to side in disappointment, "You have no right to fuss Kankurou. You think we don't know what you do when you disappear for the night? You really think you're innocent just because we don't say anything. At least if _that_ was the case, Temari is with her boyfriend; unlike you who doesn't even have a girlfriend. Temari is also older so I suggest for your own safety to stay out of her way; otherwise you'll be punished just like now."

Kankurou's ears flushed red in embarrassment, "Bu-But".

"ENOUGH! This is now getting WAY too personal and creepy, I do not need either of you to watch and give permission for my every action, if we _did_ have sex, then that is MY choice, NOT yours, MINE! Now get the HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!" Temari stormed and threw a pillow at each of them.

The brothers decided not to go against their extremely angry sister, as they have previously learnt their lesson before, and did what was told and walked out without another word.

"You get up too lazy ass! We have to get ready soon, it's actually midday-ish, go back home and do whatever you need." Temari ordered loudly.

Shikamaru rose up, a little bit irked, and eventually got off the bed and pondered to her bathroom to splash his face with cold water to wake up.

Temari continued to grumble on the bed face buried in her doona which was no longer wrapped around her.

"Alright, if the lazy ass has to get up, that means everyone else too." Shikamaru pulled on the doona.

Temari continued to grumble and then turned her head to face him pouting.

'_Cute'_ Shikamaru thought and then pushed it away due to the important events ahead.

"Don't try to be cute come on!" Shikamaru started to order.

"Hey, since when do you get to order me around?" Temari questioned.

"Now, since my arms are completely numb because of you."

Temari paused to think back and then smiled, "Oh yeah...thanks."

Shikamaru blinked, "did I hear the almighty Queen Temari say th-thanks?"

"No need to get smart..." Temari smirked and threw a tissue box at him only missing by a hair as he dodged it.

Shikamaru turned towards her doorway, "Alright I better get going now to get ready for tonight," he turned to look at her, "I'll see you soon," Shikamaru then grinned.

Temari unleashed her smile uncovering all of her teeth, "Yeah, laters lazy ass."

Shikamaru then walked out of her bedroom and made his way out of the house.

On the way out he saw Gaara and Kankurou sitting at the dining table munching on breakfast, "Thanks for letting me stay over," he told them whilst bowing.

"Don't say that to me. I didn't want you here..." Kankurou murmured.

"No, excuse us for making you have to put up with my childish brother here...we'll be seeing you tonight." Gaara calmly spoke as usual.

"Until tonight then...oh yeah I'll return your clothes tonight as well Kankurou, washed of course," then Shikamaru left before anything else could be said.

"M-My clothes? You seriously trying to get me killed Gaara?" Kankurou whined.

"Yes, that was the plan..."

"Why is everyone so cruel to me?!"

* * *

Shikamaru made his way back to a quiet home as his parents were out for work.

'_We'll discuss last night later on tonight Mister. Love Mum'_

Shikamaru grumbled whilst reading the note left on the bench, _'only my mother would be scary enough to add 'love' at the end of a threat note.'_

He then progressed upstairs and hopped into the shower.

Shikamaru continued his day as per normal where after the shower he grabbed something from his fridge to eat, went into the backyard to warm up and train a bit more doing stretches and muscle exercises, went back inside to eat, took another shower just to wash the sweat off and then sat down to stare at his shougi board.

Only today wasn't a usual day, his alarm sounded on his mobile to wake him up from his trance after staring at the shougi board, everything was about to change.

He re-tied the lazy knot in his hair to one that is sure to be more secure.

He then tied his shoe laces properly and wore clothes that fitted comfortably.

Grabbed the bag he packed a couple of nights ago and went into his closet to uncover the brass knuckles Asuma granted him with.

With everything set, he was out the door; but when opening the door, he saw Temari standing out front.

"Well, you took your time," was all she said.

They walked together towards the direction of the school and met up with the rest at the school grounds.

After the uneasy greetings and speculation that the Akatsuki wasn't around, the group tried to plan some tactics for the day.

"It's difficult when we don't know what to expect," Shikamaru sighed.

"Well we should group up in a way that's the most advantageous no matter the situation." Neji suggested.

"I want to be with Sakura!" Lee loudly interjected.

"Ah~ The suspense is killing me!" Kiba growled whilst kicking a rock.

While the group spent their time predicting what was to happen and how to counter, they felt a dark, ominous presence lurch from behind.

They all quickly turned their heads to see the Akatsuki standing in line on the school roof, "Welcome to our reception Konoha." Pain greeted.

* * *

Finally, the climax has come!

Konoha vs. Akatsuki, what's going to happen?

What's in store for our favourite couple?

Well stick around to find out haha~

Though to be honest, I had intentions of writing the start of the war in this chapter, but all of the extra activity ended up taking a lot more of the chapter then I expected.

I think this ended up being one of my longest chapters! How did that even happen?

Anyway, thank you everyone for your ongoing support.

I read every review with great joy so thank you for your time.

I hope this chapter wasn't disappointing; I'm trying to recover from major writer's block.

Much Love

Chanel~


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